GIFT  or 

Mr*  Gerville  Mott 


PRACTICAL 
FRENCH   PHONETICS 


PRACTICAL 
FRENCH  PHONETICS 


BY 

T.  MAC1RONE 

PROFESSOR   OF    FRENCH    PHONETICS    IN    THE 
FRANCO-ENGLISH    GUILD,    PARIS 


ALLYN    AND    BACON 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 

ATLANTA  SAN  FRANCISCO 


COPYRIGHT,   1921. 
BY  T.   MACIRONE 


«^ 


J.  S.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

THIS  book  aims  to  help  students  of  French  to  over- 
come the  difficulties  which  confront  them  when  they 
try  to  acquire  a  correct  pronunciation  of  that  language. 
It  is  the  result  of  many  years'  successful  experience  in 
teaching  phonetics  to  American  students.  The  author 
is  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  difficulties  of  pronuncia- 
tion which  they  encounter,  and  understands  how  to 
lead  them  to  acquire  a  good  French  accent. 

The  book  discusses  the  principles  of  voice  production, 
illustrates  by  means  of  two  cuts  the  organs  of  speech, 
and  gives  the  exact  position  of  these  organs  in  making 
each  French  sound. 

It  devotes  a  chapter  to  the  vowels  and  one  to  conso- 
nants, giving  the  phonetic  symbol  for  each  sound  with 
a  paragraph  explaining  its  use.  One  chapter  is  devoted 
entirely  to  daily  exercises  for  the  pupil's  practice.  Anr 
other  is  given  to  phonetic  transcription  of  French  stories 
and  poems,  the  same  piece  of  literature  being  presented 
in  two  columns,  side  by  side,  one  in  the  regular  Roman 
print  and  the  other  in  the  phonetic  alphabet. 

The  vocabulary  at  the  end  furnishes  the  student  with 
the  meaning  of  every  French  word  and  idiom  occurring 
in  the  chapter  on  phonetic  transcription. 

AUGUST  1,  1921. 

iii 

M44235 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    WHAT  PHONETICS  DOES 1 

Advantages  of  Phonetics        ....  1 

Disadvantages  of  the  Old  Method          .         .  2 

Physical  Differences 3 

The  Mouth 4 

Phonetics  in  Europe       .         .         .  6 
Summary       .         .         .               ,  .         .         .8 
II.    FORMATION  OF  THE  MOUTH  AND  THROAT.    SPEECH 

SOUNDS     9 

Distinctions  in  French  and  English        .         .  9 

Organs  of  Speech   ......  9 

Speech  Sounds       .         .         .         .         .         .15 

III.  VOWEL  SOUNDS 17 

Variety  of  Vowel  Sounds        .         .         .         .17 

French  Vowel  Sounds 18 

Nasal  Vowels 30 

Summary .34 

IV.  CONSONANTS 35 

Voiced  and  Voiceless  Consonants  .         .         .35 

V.     DAILY  EXERCISES 49 

Vowels 49 

Consonants 53 

VI.    PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTION   OF   FRENCH   STORIES 

AND  POEMS 57 

La  bonne  femme  et  son  biquet       .         .         .57 


VI  CONTENTS 

Histoire  du  petit  Chaperon  Rouge         .         .     59 
Le  violon  magique          .         .         .         .         .62 

Les  braves  gens 70 

Plaisir  d' amour 79 

Le  bon  Dieu  de  Chemille       .         .         .         .87 

La  tarte  a  la  creme 92 

Jeanne  au  pain  sec 95 

Liberte 97 

VOCABULARY  OF  PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION  .  99 


PRACTICAL 
FRENCH   PHONETICS 


PRACTICAL 
FRENCH    PHONETICS 

CHAPTER  I 
WHAT  PHONETICS  DOES 

Advantages  of  Phonetics.  —  What  are  phonetic 
principles  and  what  is  the  use  of  them  in  learning  how 
to  speak  French?  Phonetics  teaches  us  exactly  how 
we  all  make  the  sounds  we  utter  when  speaking. 

It  treats  of  sounds,  not  letters.  It  splits  up  every 
word  into  the  sounds  it  is  composed  of  and  studies 
these  sounds,  one  by  one.  Every  language  has  a  lim- 
ited number  of  sounds,  just  as  it  has  a  limited  num- 
ber of  letters,  and  the  first  thing  we  have  to  do  in  study- 
ing phonetics  is  to  learn  to  differentiate  between  sounds 
and  letters.  In  phonetics  we  study  sounds  for  the  sake 
of  learning  to  speak  the  language  of  a  country  as  the 
natives  speak  it,  and  we  get  into  the  habit  of  thinking 
of  a  word  by  the  sounds  it  contains  and  not  by  the 
letters  that  represent  it. 

When  you  learn  to  speak  a  new  language  the  sound 
is  the  unit ;  to  try  to  teach  a  foreigner  to  pronounce  a 
whole  word  correctly,  without  explaining  the  sounds 

1 


2  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

it  is  composed  of.  is  like  trying  to  teach  a  child  to  do  a 
sum  in  addition  without  firsc  teaching  him  his  figures. 
When  we  learn  to  speak  French  we  have  to  learn 
French  sounds;  when  we  study  Spanish,  Spanish 
sounds,  and  so  on.  Very  often  the  same  sound  occurs 
in  many  languages,  but  there  are  always  a  few  unfa- 
miliar sounds  to  learn  in  every  new  language  we  study. 

Disadvantages  of  the  Old  Method.  —  Heretofore, 
the  only  way  a  foreigner  had  of  trying  to  teach  you 
how  to  speak  his  language  was  by  repeating  the  word 
over  and  over  again,  and  trusting  to  your  ear  to  guide 
your  tongue  and  lips  into  making  the  right  sounds. 
But  for  the  majority  of  people  who  have  not  a  partic- 
ularly good  ear  it  was  waste  of  time.  The  French 
master  for  instance  repeated  over  and  over  again, 
"  say  tu"  (thou),  and  the  poor  American  student  re- 
peated "  tou,"  and  so  it  went  on :  Frenchman  "  tu," 
American  "  tou,"  or  even  "  tjou,"  generally  with  no 
result  whatever  except  a  growing  indignation  on  the 
part  of  the  Frenchman,  who  could  not  understand 
that  the  American  was  not  purposely  pronouncing  it 
badly,  and  a  growing  despair  and  weariness  on  the 
part  of  the  American. 

Or  take  another  very  difficult  French  word, 
"  puis  "  (then).  How  many  of  us  have  not  tried  in 
vain  to  satisfy  a  French  ear  with  our  pronunciation  of 
the  sound  in  the  middle  of  that  word  ?  It  should  be 
"  puis,"  and  the  American,  simply  because  no  one  has 


WHAT   PHONETICS   DOES  3 

ever  explained  the  real  difference  to  him  phonetically, 
keeps  on  saying  "  pouis." 

Or  again  the  French  r.  You  know  that  the  letter  r 
in  French  must  always  be  pronounced.  Only  a  very 
small  percentage  of  Americans  pronounce  all  their 
r's,  so  this  is  always  a' difficulty,  wrhen  you  begin  to 
speak  French.  We  do  not  generally  pronounce  the  r, 
for  instance,  in  the  word  "  bark/7  very  few  people 
say  "  barrrk  "  ;  and  we  do  not  pronounce  it  in"  father/7 
Only  a  very  few  people  say  "  fatherrr." 

Many  Americans  know  that  in  French  every  r 
must  be  pronounced,  and  they  take  endless  pains  to 
pronounce  every  r  when  they  are  speaking  French. 
But  in  English  there  are  certain  ways  of  pronouncing 
the  r,  which  are  so  foreign  to  a  Frenchman,  that  he 
does  not  even  recognize  it  for  an  r !  And  it  is  so  per- 
fectly easy  to  pronounce  the  real  French  northern  r, 
the  r  of  the  cultured  people  in  Paris,  if  only  we  know 
how. 

That  is  what  phonetics  will  teach  you. 

Physical  Differences.  —  After  all,  there  is  nothing 
miraculous  about  the  fact  that  a  Frenchman  utters 
certain  sounds  quite  easily  and  that  we  try  in  vain  to 
imitate  him.  He  has  exactly  the  same  difficulty  when 
he  tries  to  imitate  our  sounds.  The  reason  simply 
is  that  all  his  life  his  mouth  muscles  have  been  exer- 
cising themselves  in  expressing  certain  sounds  that 
we  have  never  uttered,  and  all  our  lives  we  have  been 


4  PRACTICAL   FRENCH  PHONETICS 

uttering  certain  sounds  that  he  has  never  expressed. 
So  when  we  try  to  imitate  his  sounds,  we  are  not 
only  hampered  by  our  absolute  ignorance  of  how  to 
pronounce  them,  but  even  if  by  accident,  or  because 
we  have  a  very  good  ear,  we  do  hit  on  the  right  way  of 
pronouncing  them,  our  muscles  are  stiff,  and  do  not 
at  first  respond  quickly  enough  to  the  effort  we  demand 
of  them.  We  think  we  cannot  do  it,  and  give  it  up, 
when,  if  we  had  only  persevered,  our  muscles  would 
gradually  have  become  exercised  and  would  have 
produced  the  required  sound  correctly. 

There  is  another  thing  that  must  often  have  struck 
you  among  the  people  by  whom  you  are  surrounded 
in  your  daily  life :  that  they  do  not  all  pronounce 
English  words  in  the  same  way  as  you.  Sometimes 
this  is  because  they  come  from  a  different  part  of  the 
country  and  their  accent  is  different  from  yours. 
Sometimes  it  is  because  they  have  some  slight  defect 
in  their  speech.  This  defect  could  be  overcome  by  a 
knowledge  of  phonetics.  It  probably  comes  from  some 
slight  difficulty  the  speaker  had  as  a  child  in  pronounc- 
ing certain  sounds,  and  this  difficulty  can  in  nearly 
every  case  be  overcome.  We  need  only  to  study 
sufficiently  how  we  ourselves  pronounce  the  sound, 
and  how  it  should  be  pronounced. 

The  Mouth.  —  You  must  get  into  the  way  of  study- 
ing the  inside  of  your  mouth  and  throat,  of  trying  to 
feel,  when  you  cannot  see  in  the  glass,  exactly  where 


WHAT   PHONETICS  DOES  5 

you  put  your  tongue  to  utter  certain  sounds :  whether 
it  touches  your  teeth  or  your  palate,  and  where  it 
touches  them,  or  if  it  touches  nothing  at  all,  what  its 
position  is  in  your  mouth. 

If  you  wish  to  do  this  very  thoroughly,  for  instance 
for  learning  several  foreign  languages,  Spanish  perhaps 
as  well  as  French,  or  for  correcting  some  mistake  in 
your  own  pronunciation,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  use  an 
artificial  palate  for  your  investigations.  You  place 
it  in  your  mouth,  as  a  test,  when  you  wish  to  know  if 
you  are  putting  your  tongue  in  the  right  position ;  for 
the  greater  number  of  the  consonants  are  pronounced 
with  the  tongue  touching  the  palate  more  or  less. 
The  artificial  palate  shows  you  exactly  where  your 
tongue  touches  it,  and  if  your  position  is  wrong,  you 
correct  it.  1 


1  Mr.  Dumville  in  his  admirable  book,  "Elements  of  French  Pro- 
nunciation and  Diction,"  published  by  Dent,  London,  explains 
how  this  can  be  done.  He  says:  "The  student  who  takes  interest 
in  the  examination  and  comparison  of  different  sounds  would  do  well  ' 
to  get  an  artificial  palate  made ;  by  its  means  many  interesting  ex- 
periments can  be  performed.  This  useful  piece  of  apparatus  can 
be  cheaply  constructed  by  a  dentist,  or  a  person  of  an  ingenious  turn 
of  mind  can  make  one  himself.  The  following  directions  may  be 
useful : 

"  Get  a  few  cents  worth  of  beeswax.  Place  it  in  a  small  pot,  and  put 
the  pot  in  warm  water  until  the  wax  is  just  soft.  Remove  it  and 
place  it  on  an  oval  piece  of  wood  or  a  large  spoon,  of  a  sufficient  size 
to  cover  the  breadth  of  the  teeth.  Place  the  spoon  in  the  mouth, 
and  bite  down  hard  on  the  wax.  Then  remove  carefully  from  the 
mouth,  and  allow  the  molding  to  cool  and  harden.  Place  it  in  a 
small  round  tin  box,  the  sides  of  which  are  a  little  higher  than  the 
molding,  and  having  greased  the  inside  of  the  box,  pour  on  plaster 
of  Paris.  Leave  for  a  few  hours,  then  remove  the  wax  carefully 


6  PRACTICAL   FRENCH   PHONETICS 

Phonetics  in  Europe.  —  Phonetics  has  been  very 
much  used  for  years  in  many  European  countries,  with 
the  best  results.  There  are  many  schools  in  England 
where  the  children  do  not  see  French  written  in  or- 
dinary spelling  for  a  whole  year  after  they  begin  to 
study  it.  They  do  systematic  phonetic  exercises 
every  day  from  the  outset,  and  so  their  muscles  are 
trained  while  they  are  young  and  supple;  and  they 
are  very  quickly  able  to  pronounce  the  French  sounds 
as  well  as  the  English.  This  is  the  case  in  a  con- 
stantly growing  number  of  English  schools.1 

from  the  plaster.  A  good  impression  of  the  inside  of  the  mouth 
should  appear. 

"On  this  an  artificial  palate  can  be  made  by  first  greasing  it  and 
laying  on  strips  of  filter  paper  (or  thin  blotting  paper)  soaked  in 
gum.  The  addition  of  a  little  powdered  chalk  will  help  to  give 
solidity,  though  it  is  not  desirable  to  make  the  palate  thick.  Allow 
the  gum  to  dry  and  then  after  cutting  off  unnecessary  corners  and 
seeing  that  the  artificial  palate  does  not  extend  any  farther  back 
than  the  hard  palate  of  the  mouth,  it  can  be  covered  with  several 
thin  coats  of  black  enamel  or  Japan  black.  It  is  now  ready  for  use. 
By  covering  the  lower  side  with  powdered  chalk  and  placing  it  in 
the  mouth,  it  is  possible  to  see  where  the  tongue  touches  for  any 
articulation,  for  the  powder  will  be  removed  by  the  moisture  of  the 
tongue." 

1  If  ever  you  have  the  opportunity,  go  and  see  for  yourself  at  the 
Perse  School,  Cambridge.  The  boys  there  have  been  trained  in 
phonetics  for  many  years,  and  their  pronunciation  is  remarkable. 
During  the  entire  first  year  they  read  and  write  in  phonetics.  This 
prevents  them  from  ever  being  led  astray  by  the  letters  that  are  not 
pronounced  in  ordinary  spelling.  The  sounds  are  explained  to  them 
in  detail ;  they  sing  and  say  them  every  day.  They  write  the  words 
they  learn  in  phonetics,  so  that  they  are  never  tempted  to  pronounce 
them  badly.  Because  in  phonetics  we  write  only  the  sounds  we  pro- 
nounce, spelling  becomes  written  speech,  which  it  never  is  in  any 
language  now. 


WHAT   PHONETICS   DOES  7 

Spelling  in  every  tongue  has  become  conventional, 
letters  are  pronounced  in  many  different  ways,  and 
it  is  only  custom  that  teaches  you  how  to  pronounce 
them.  In  phonetics  every  sound  has  its  own  sign, 
and  every  sign  is  pronounced  in  one  single  way,  so 
that  it  is  not  possible  to  make  a  mistake.  But  still, 
even  for  people  who  have  not  been  so  fortunate  as 
to  have  been  taught  in  this  way  from  the  beginning, 
much  can  be  done  by  phonetics.1 

When  the  American  army  went  to  France,  the  men 
had  all  kinds  of  trouble  with  the  language.  Many 
soldiers  will  tell  you  how  difficult  they  found  it  to  make 
themselves  understood.  They  knew  the  words,  they 
could  rea^The  papers,  but  when  it  came  to  pronouncing 
the  wtfrds,  no  one  knew  what  they  meant.  They  had 
never  learned  French  pronunciation,  except  in  the  way 
it  is  spoken  of  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter ;  that  is 
to  say,  they  had  tried  to  imitate  their  teacher.  And 
as  we  have  said,  in  the  majority  of  cases  this  leads 
practically  nowhere. 

Just  think  for  a  minute  what  a  drawback  a  bad 
accent  is.  It  puts  you  at  an  immediate  disadvantage 
with  a  foreigner.  He  listens  to  you  with  something 

1  The  author  once  had  an  Italian  pupil  at  the  phonetics  class  of 
the  Versailles  Holiday  Course  for  Foreigners,  who  had  for  many 
years  pronounced  the  French  nasal  vowels  (bon,  en,  etc.)  like  an 
English  ng,  in  sing  for  instance.  When  it  was  explained  to  her  pho- 
netically how  they  ought  to  be  pronounced,  she  corrected  herself  in  a 
week.  It  made  a  great  difference,  as  the  nasal  sounds  are  constantly 
occurring  in  French,  and  when  wrongly  uttered  they  made  her  accent 
very  disagreeable. 


8  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

very  much  like  contempt.  You  seem  to  him  to  be 
talking  either  like  an  ignorant  man  or  like  a  child, 
and  the  association  of  ideas  between  a  bad  accent  and 
ignorance  or  childishness  is  so  close  that  he  finds  it 
practically  impossible  to  treat  you  as  he  would  an 
equal.  Think  what  a  pity  this  is,  when  it  merely 
needs  a  thorough  mastery  of  phonetics  to  put  our 
children  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  foreigner  whosf 
language  they  are  learning. 

Summary.  —  To  sum  up  the  ideas  contained  in 
this  opening  chapter :  the  new  light  that  the  study  of 
phonetics  has  brought  to  the  teaching  of  a  foreign 
language  is  that  we  must  begin  by  studying  the  sounds 
of  which  that  language  is  composed  before  we  try  to 
join  those  sounds  together  into  words.  We  must 
begin  at  the  beginning  as  a  baby  does.  We  must 
learn  to  think  in  sounds. 

This  new  faculty  of  studying  sounds  may  be  a  ma- 
terial help  to  us  in  other  ways,  for  instance,  in  correct- 
ing any  mistakes  we  may  make  in  our  own  language. 
No  one  is  too  old  to  study  phonetics.  It  is  a  very 
simple  new  science  which  clears  away  the  old  difficul- 
ties of  understanding  between  men  of  different  tongues. 

A  bad  accent  in  a  foreign  language  puts  you  im- 
mediately in  a  false  position  with  regard  to  the  foreigner. 
He  treats  you  like  a  child,  because  you  sound  to  him 
like  a  child.  He  cannot  realize  that  you  have  the  same 
education  and  attainments  as  himself. 


CHAPTER   II 

FORMATION   OF   THE    MOUTH   AND    THROAT. 
SPEECH   SOUNDS 

Distinctions  in  French  and  English.  —  When  you 
learn  to  speak  French,  the  first  thing  to  be  clearly 
understood  is  that  hardly  one  single  sound  is  to  be 
pronounced  exactly  the  same  as  in  English.  Each 
consonant  and  each  vowel  has  its  own  peculiar  pro- 
nunciation, and  this  pronunciation  is  not  the  same  as 
for  the  corresponding  consonants  and  vowels  in  Eng- 
lish. To  take  a  common  example :  the  letter  a  in 
French  is  never  pronounced  as  in  "  cat/'  or  as  in 
"  wall,"  or  as  in  "  hate/7  and  never  quite  the  same  as 
in  "  father."  It  is  perhaps  this  last  category  which 
is  the  most  likely  to  lead  you  into  error,  as  the  French 
a  in  "  pas  "  (not),  for  instance,  will  seem  to  you,  until 
you  have  had  your  ear  trained  a  little,  the  same  as 
in  father ;  but  it  is  not  so. 

Organs  of  Speech.  —  Now  in  order  to  understand 
how  to  pronounce  these  new  French  sounds,  we  must 
first  realize  how  we  pronounce  our  own  English  sounds, 
and  study  the  formation  of  the  inside  of  our  mouths 
and  throats.  We  all  know,  of  course,  in  a  superficial 
way,  what  they  are  like,  and  we  probably  all  know  the 

9 


10 


PRACTICAL   FRENCH   PHONETICS 


few  things  about  to  be  mentioned  here,  but  everything 

depends  on  these  ideas  being  perfectly  clear  and  quite 

present  in  our  memories. 

Begin  by  taking  a  pocket  mirror  and  looking  at  the 

inside  of  your  mouth  and  throat,  standing  with  your 

back  to  the  light, 
so  that  the  rays  of 
light  may  strike  the 
mirror  and  light  up 
your  throat.  What 
do  you  see?  Here 
is  a  diagram  to  help 
you. 

Look  at  the  illus- 
tration for  a  few 
minutes  to  get  quite 
accustomed  to  it. 
You  must  imagine 
that  your  head  has 
been  cut  in  two 
from  top  to  bottom, 
and  that  you  are 

CROSS  SECTION  OF  HEAD  AND  THROAT. 

looking  at  one  half 

of  it,  from  the  side.  This  gives  you  a  much  more  defi- 
nite idea  of  your  organs  than  you  can  have  by  looking 
at  them  from  the  front,  because  then  you  see  only  the 
end  of  your  tongue,  the  surface  of  your  palate,  etc. 

Now  notice  the  things  with  which  you  are  most 
familiar,  the  outlines  of  the  head  and  face,  the  nose, 


FORMATION   OF  THROAT  AND  MOUTH       11 

the  lips,  and  then  begin  to  examine  the  inside  of  all 
these.     Do  you  recognize  the  tongue,  the  large  muscle 


NOSE 


MOUTH"/     „ 
LIPS  •'"",';> 
TEETH  .'*" 


THROAT— X 

ADAM'S  APPLE  '' 


GLOTTIS 


curled  up  in  the  front  of  the  mouth?  Do  you  see  that 
it  is  joined  to  the  bottom  of  your  mouth  for  a  long 
way?  It  is  not  simply  a  kind  of  finger,  joined  at  one 
end,  as  we  so  often  imagine.  It  can  take  many,  many 


12  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

different  shapes  in  your  mouth.  Move  it  about  with 
your  fingers,  backwards  and  forwards,  and  from  side 
to  side,  so  as  to  be  quite  sure  of  this.  Put  it  as  far 
back  as  you  can,  touch  your  palate  all  over  its  surface 
with  your  tongue.  For  all  these  investigations,  it  is 
best  to  go  into  a  room  alone,  where  you  will  not  mind 
making  faces,  and  where  you  will  be  free  to  pronounce 
any  sounds  you  like  without  being  laughed  at. 

Now  do  you  see  the  palate  in  the  illustration?  Do 
you  see  that  it  is  a  kind  of  wall,  separating  your  mouth 
from  your  nose?  It  is  the  floor  of  the  nose,  and  the 
roof  of  the  mouth  at  the  same  time.  Do  you  see  that 
it  has  a  hard  bone  inside  in  front,  near  your  lips,  but 
that  at  the  back  it  has  no  bone ;  the  bone  comes  to  an 
end?  Run  your  finger  along  it  inside  your  mouth  to 
make  sure  of  this,  and  then  try  to  touch  the  soft  part 
at  the  back.  You  will  find  you  can't,  as  it  is  too  sensi- 
tive, and  touching  it  will  tend  to  make  you  feel  queer. 

This  soft  end  of  the  palate  is  called  the  soft  palate  or 
uvula,  and  you  can  see  it  very  easily  in  the  looking 
glass.  Stand  with  your  back  to  the  light,  open  your 
mouth  very  wide,  as  wide  as  you  can,  and  say  "  Ah !  " 
several  times.  You  will  see  the  soft  end  of  the  palate 
hanging  down  at  the  back  of  your  mouth.  When 
you  say  "  Ah !  "  your  tongue  will  lie  at  the  bottom  of 
your  mouth,  and  will  allow  you  to  see  the  back  very 
clearly. 

Now,  when  you  say  "  Ah !  ",  exactly  what  do  you 
do?  Have  you  ever  thought  that  your  mouth  and 


FORMATION   OF  THROAT  AND   MOUTH        13 

throat  are  a  most  wonderful  musical  instrument? 
You  do  instinctively  without  any  effort  what  men 
have  had  great  trouble  to  produce  in  a  musical  instru- 
ment. The  breath  comes  out  of  your  lungs  up  the 
windpipe,  passes  through  the  larynx,  between  the 
vocal  cords,  and  so  out  through  your  mouth  or  through 
your  nose,  or  through  both.  Your  nose  or  your  mouth 
are  like  the  body  of  a  musical  instrument,  of  a  trumpet, 
for  instance,  or  a  horn.  It  is  there  that  the  air  cir- 
culates before  passing  out  between  your  lips  or  through 
your  nostrils. 

Think  of  all  this  for  a  minute.  Look  at  the  illus- 
tration; find  the  windpipe  and  the  larynx,  with  the 
vocal  cords  stretched  across  it,  looking  like  a  little 
mouth.  See  how  the  air  is  able  to  pass  either  through 
the  mouth  or  through  the  nose  or  through  both.  This 
is  because  of  the  flexibility  of  the  uvula,  that  soft 
end  of  the  palate  which  we  were  talking  about  just 
now.  You  can  move  it  tight  against  the  back  of  your 
throat,  and  so  force  the  air  out  through  your  mouth, 
or  you  can  bring  it  down  and  allow  the  air  to  go  out 
wholly  or  partly  through  your  nose.  If  we  make  all 
the  air  pass  out  through  the  nose,  we  bring  the  uvula 
right  down  to  meet  the  tongue  behind;  but  we  do 
not  often  do  this. 

We  are  so  used  to  moving  the  uvula  up  and  down 
like  this,  that  we  do  not  notice  it,  but  in  studying 
French  sounds,  we  must  notice  it.  We  must  try  to 
become  conscious  of  its  movements,  to  know  without 


14  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

looking  in  the  glass  when  the  uvula  is  up,  pressed 
against  the  back  of  the  passage  leading  into  the  nose 
(the  pharynx),  and  when  it  is  down,  allowing  the  air 
to  rise  into  the  nasal  cavity.  Also,  we  must  learn 
how  to  raise  and  lower  it  at  will.  It  is  quite  easy  after 
a  little  practice  to  feel  it  moving,  and  to  control  its 
movements. 

Now  we  must  think  for  a  few  minutes  about  the  vocal 
cords.  You  can  see  them  in  the  picture,  and  you  must 
try  to  locate  them  in  your  own  throat.  They  are 
fibers  of  elastic  ssue  stretched  across  the  larynx. 
At  certain  times,  as  the  air  comes  out  between  them,  it 
makes  them  vibrate.  If  we  sing,  they  vibrate  very 
much.  When  we  are  at  rest,  breathing  quietly,  they 
lie  quite  loose,  and  the  breath  passes  out  between 
them  with  hardly  any  sound  at  all.  Listen  to  yourself 
breathing  for  a  minute :  breathe  harder,  as  when  you 
have  run  a  long  way,  and  you  will  hear  a  louder  sound. 

The  top  of  the  windpipe,  which  contains  the  vocal 
cords,  is  a  little  larger  than  the  pipe  itself.  Feel  it  by 
rubbing  your  hand  against  the  front  of  your  neck, 
where  your  Adam's  apple  is. 

Keep  your  finger  against  the  larynx,  sing  a  few  notes, 
and  let  your  ear  convince  you  that  the  sounds  you  pro- 
duce originate  exactly  at  that  spot.  Sing  them  softly 
and  locate  the  sound.  Do  this  several  times,  then 
speak  a  few  sentences,  and  see  if  you  can  notice  that 
certain  sounds  cause  this  vibration  in  the  throat,  and 
certain  others  do  not.  Pronounce,  for  instance,  the 


FORMATION   OP  THROAT   AND   MOUTH        15 

word  "bake."  Say  it  very  slowly  in  two  syllables, 
ba-ke,  ba-ke,  ba-ke.  Say  it  several  times,  and  notice 
how  the  vibration  in  your  throat  stops  before  the  k. 
Put  your  fingers  over  your  ears,  while  you  are  doing 
this,  and  you  will  hear  it  better.  Now  you  have  found 
out  that  you  make  two  different  kinds  of  sounds  when 
you  speak,  some  with  vibration  of  the  vocal  cords,  and 
some  without  vibration.  We  shall  examine  this  more 
closely  presently  (page  35). 

Speech  Sounds.  —  Remember  that  we  are  speaking 
of  speech  sounds,  and  not  of  letters.  These  are  two 
very  different  things. 

Very  often  a  single  sound  is  not  represented  by  a 
single  letter;  for  instance,  in  the  word  "  cough  "  there 
are  five  letters,  and  only  three  sounds,  a  fc,  a  sort  of  o, 
and  an  /,  kof.  You  may  say,  if  you  like,  that  ou  repre- 
sents the  sound  o,  and  gh  the  sound  /.  In  each  case 
two  letters  represent  one  single  sound. 

And  again  a  single  letter  may  represent  two  sounds, 
and  not  always  the  same  two  sounds ;  for  instance,  x  in 
"  box  "  represents  a  k  and  an  s,  boks;  and  x  in  "  exam- 
ine "  represents  a  g  and  a  z,  egzamine. 

It  is  well  here  to  spend  a  little  time  getting  used  to 
the  idea  of  the  difference  between  the  sounds  and 
letters  in  words.  Take  a  number  of  ordinary  words, 
and  count  the  number  of  sounds  they  contain,  and 
compare  this  with  the  number  of  letters  they  contain. 

French  is  like  the  English  in  this  respect :   words  are 


16  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

no  longer  pronounced  as  they  are  spelled.  Spelling 
is  one  thing  and  pronunciation  is  another,  and  here 
we  are  studying  pronunciation.  In  the  exercises  at 
the  end  of  the  book  (page  49),  you  will  pronounce 
every  single  sound  you  see  represented.  The  signs 
and  letters  we  are  going  to  use  represent  sounds. 

Let  us  first  examine  the  difference  between  the  vowel 
sounds  and  the  consonants.  When  we  pronounce  a 
vowel  sound,  for  instance,  a  as  in  "  father/7  the  breath 
passes  out  without  meeting  any  obstacle  in  its  way. 
When  we  pronounce  a  consonant  sound  such  as  b,  d,  g,  v, 
our  breath  no  longer  passes  out  freely ;  it  is  hampered 
in  its  passage  through  the  mouth ;  as  in  be,  do,  go,  vie. 
Sometimes  it  is  the  lips  that  prevent  the  breath  passing 
out  for  a  minute,  as  in  be,  or  it  is  the  tongue  pressing 
behind  the  teeth,  as  in  do,  or  the  tongue  presses  farther 
back  against  the  palate,  as  in  go,  or  it  is  the  teeth  press- 
ing against  the  lip,  as  in  vie.  But  in  each  case  one  of 
the  organs  of  the  mouth  intervenes  to  prevent  the 
breath  passing  out  freely. 


CHAPTER   III 
VOWEL   SOUNDS 

Variety  of  Vowel  Sounds.  —  We  are  going  to  study 
the  vowel  sounds  first.  Pronounce  all  the  ones  you 
know,  a  as  in  cat,  wall,  father,  hate;  e  as  in  hen,  there, 
women;  i  as  in  in  (which  is  the  same  sound  as  that  of 
e  in  women),  and  in  bite,  etc.  How  is  it  that  these  vowel 
sounds  differ  so  much,  and  how  is  it  that  we  can  make 
so  many  of  them  ?  In  other  languages  there  are  many, 
many  more.  In  fact  there  is  no  reason  why  there 
should  not  be  an  unlimited  number  of  them.  Have 
you  heard  people  speak  who  come  from  many  different 
states,  and  have  you  noticed  how  very  differently  they 
pronounce  their  v*owel  sounds?  If  there  is  such  di- 
versity of  sounds  in  English  alone,  how  many  do  you 
imagine  you  would  hear  all  over  the  world  ? 

What  is  the  secret  of  this  ?  We  have  only  to  vary  the 
shape  of  our  mouths  ever  so  little  to  vary  the  sound 
produced.  And  as  the  mouth  with  the  lips  and  cheeks 
is  very  elastic,  we  can  imagine  them  taking  an  indefinite 
number  of  shapes  and  therefore  forming  an  indefinite 
number  of  sounds. 

Now  let  us  prove  this.  Open  your  mouth  wide,  lay 
your  tongue  flat,  and  say  "Ah!"  Then  without 

17 


18  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

moving  your  tongue,  begin  to  push  your  lips  out,  and 
go  on  trying  to  say  "  Ah !  "  and  you  will  find  that  the 
sound  will  gradually  resolve  itself  into  "  ou,"  without 
any  wish  of  yours.  That  is  to  say,  the  sound  changes 
as  soon  as  you  change  the  shape  of  your  mouth.  Pull 
the  corners  of  your  lips  back  as  you  do  when  you  smile, 
put  your  lips  together  without  closing  them,  and  raise 
your  tongue  in  the  front  of  your  mouth,  and  the  sound 
will  become  ee,  as  in  the  word  "  feet."  Now  try  to 
let  some  of  the  air  get  into  your  nose,  that  is,  bring 
down  the  uvula  a  little,  and  you  will  hear  a  nasal  sound 
in  your  vowel.  Perhaps  you  will  not  be  able  to  do  this 
at  first,  or  perhaps  you  habitually  do  it  in  the  pro- 
nunciation of  all  your  vowels.  This  is  a  very  common 
mistake  to  make.  In  English  the  nasal  is  regarded 
as  a  disagreeable  tone.  If  you  are  in  the  habit  of 
speaking  with  a  nasal  tone,  you  will  not  at  first  be 
able  to  produce  a  pure  mouth  vowel,  as  you  must 
learn  to  do  in  French. 

French  Vowel  Sounds.  —  In  America  we  very  often 
pronounce  two  or  three  vowel  sounds  very  rapidly,  one 
after  the  other,  producing  what  is  called  a  diphthongal 

y 

sound ;  for  instance,  when  you  say  "  hate,"  you  really 
say  hay-eat,  very  rapidly.  When  you  say  "  boy," 
you  really  say  baw-ee,  very  rapidly.  When  you  say 

x  "light,"  you  really  say  lah-eat,  very  rapidly.  In 
French  you  must  never  do  this.  All  the  vowel  sounds 

X  consist  of  one  single  sound.     Be  very  careful  of  this. 


VOWEL  SOUNDS  19 

We  are  going  to  give  each  French  sound  a  sign  to 
represent  it,  so  that  when  reference  is  made  to  any 
particular  sound  you  may  be  quite  sure  exactly 
which  one  is  meant.  We  shall  put  after  the  explana- 
tion of  each  sound  the  different  ways  in  which  it  is 
spelled. 

We  are  going  to  take  the  vowels  in  a  certain  definite 
order,  beginning  with  those  that  are  pronounced  in 
the  front  of  the  mouth,  with  the  tongue  in  front,  and 
ending  with  those  that  are  pronounced  at  the  back  of 
the  mouth,  with  the  tongue  drawn  up  behind. 

i.  —  The  first  vowel  sound  is  i.  Put  your  mouth  in  a 
smiling  position  almost  closed ;  tighten  all  the  muscles 
of  your  cheeks,  somewhat  as  if  you  were  going  to.  bite 
very  hard  ;  put  your  tongue  in  the  front  of  your  mouth 
and  raise  the  tip  of  it  a  little,  pressing  it  firmly  against 
your  teeth.  As  you  are  pronouncing  i,  be  sure  that 
all  your  muscles  are  quite  still.  If  they  move  ever  so 
little,  as  they  often  do  in  speaking  English,  in  pro- 
nouncing the  kindred  sound  ee  in  "  feet/;  you  will  have 
a  diphthongal  sound  such  as  was  spoken  of  just  now. 
These  diphthongal  sounds  are  not  French,  and  are  ex- 
tremely disagreeable  to  a  French  ear. 

This  i  is  the  regular  sound  of  i,  i,  or  y,  as  in  hardi(s),1 
bold ;  ile,  island ;  lycee,  high  school. 

1  Many  of  these  different  spellings  of  the  vowel  sounds  may  be 
followed  by  an  s  as  a  sign  of  the  plural ;  this  s  is  only  occasionally 
sounded  for  the  sake  of  euphony  before  a  vowel. 


20  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

It  is  also  the  sound  of  i  in  various  combinations, 
such  as  ie,  is,  it,  ient,  ix. 

comedie(&),  comedy.  tu  finis,  thou  finishest. 

il  finit,  he  finishes.  Us  sclent ,  they  saw. 

dix,  ten  (when  the  x  is  not  sounded). 

The  exercises  on  this  sound  and  all  the  following 
ones  will  be  found  beginning  on  page  49.  They 
should  all  be  pronounced  every  day,  as  many  times 
as  possible.  At  first  the  jaws  and  muscles  should 
ache  after  each  exercise. 

e.  —  This  sound  is  very  like  the  last.  Put  your 
mouth  in  the  same  smiling  position,  tighten  all  the 
muscles  of  your  cheeks,  put  your  tongue  in  the  front 
of  your  mouth,  with  the  tip  raised  a  little  and  pressed 
against  your  teeth,  opening  your  mouth  a  little  more. 
This  is  the  sound  that  most  Americans  have  great 
difficulty  in  pronouncing,  so  great  pains  must  be  taken 
with  it.  It  is  very  much  tighter,  firmer,  and  sharper 
than  the  kindred  English  sound  of  e  in  "  pen." 

This  e  is  the  regular  sound  of  e,  as  in  eglise,  church ; 
fumee,  smoke.  It  is  also  the  sound  :  (1)  of  e  alone  and 
in  various  combinations,  such  as  ed(s),  es,  ef(s),  oe,  er  in 
the  infinitive  of  many  verbs,  ez  in  the  second  person 
plural  of  the  present  indicative  of  nearly  all  verbs,  et  in 
the  conjunction  and  (but  not  at  the  end  of  a  great  many 
words,  like  gar$onnet,  where  the  et  is  pronounced  differ- 
ently) ;  and  (2)  sometimes  of  ai,  for  instance  in  the 


VOWEL  SOUNDS  21 

present  indicative  of  avoir f  in  the  first  person  singular 
of  the  past  of  many  verbs,  in  the  future  of  all  verbs, 
and  ais  and  ait  in  the  present  indicative  of  the  verb 
savoir  (this  is  quite  exceptional). 

effort,  effort.  (vous)  allez,  (you)  go. 

pied(s),  foot.  et,  and. 

mes,  my.  O')'ai,  (I)  have. 

ctef(s),  key.  (j)'aZZai,  (I)  went. 

(Edipe,  (Edipus.  (j)'irai,  (I)  shall  go. 
docAer(s),  church  tower.         (je)  sais,  (I)  know. 

aller,  to  go.  (iZ).sait,  (he)  knows. 

c.  —  This  Greek  e  represents  the  sound  which  is 
generally  spelled  e.  Open  your  mouth  fairly  wide, 
about  half  as  wide  as  you  can,  let  your  cheek  muscles 
relax,  put  your  tongue  a  little  farther  back  than  for  e, 
and  not  so  high  in  the  mouth ;  think  of  a  sheep  bleating. 
This  is  perhaps  the  French  vowel  which  comes  closest 
to  having  a  corresponding  sound  in  English.  It  is  not 
unlike  the  first  vowel  sound  in  there.  Most  people 
pronounce  that  vowel  with  two  vowel  sounds,  that  is, 
with  a  diphthongal  vowel,  and  in  French,  as  we  have 
said,  you  must  never  do  that.  Instead  try  to  isolate 
the  first  vowel  sound  in  "  there  "  and  you  will  have  a 
vowel  very  close  to  the  French. 

This  8  is  the  regular  sound  of  e  and  e,  as  in  frere, 
brother;  tres,  very;  beche,  spade. 

It  is  also  one  of  the  sounds  of  e  alone  and :  (1)  of  e, 
e,  and  e  in  various  combinations,  such  as  et(s)  (except 


22  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

the  conjunction  ei),  et(s),  ect(s),  es,  est,  ei  ;  and  (2) 
sometimes  of  ai,  ai,  and  of  ais,  ait,  and  aient  in  the  im- 
perfect and  conditional  of  all  verbs. 

miel,  honey.  saison,  season. 

bouquet(s),  bunch  of  flowers,  aine,  eldest. 

/oret(s),  forest.  (j)'oZZaiSj  (I)  was  going. 

aspect(s),  aspect.  (il)  alla.it,  (he)  was  going. 

(tu)  es,  (thou)  art.  (j)^Vais,  (I)  should  gc. 

(il)  est,  (he)  is.  (il)  ira.it,  (he)  would  go. 

neige,  snow.  (Us)  iraient,  (they)  would 

go. 

a.  —  This  is  the  easiest  sound  of  all  to  produce,  as 
it  is  the  sound  we  all  make  instinctively  when  we  open 
the  mouth  and  vocalize,  letting  the  tongue  lie  fiat 
in  the  bottom  of  the  mouth.  It  is  the  sound  that  a 
baby  of  any  nationality  pronounces  when  it  begins  to 
talk,  for  this  reason :  it  does  not  make  any  cffcrt,  it 
just  talks,  and  a  is  the  sound  that  comes.  If  the  child  is 
angry  and  screaming,  it  makes  quite  a  different  sound, 
because  then  it  tightens  its  muscles  and  says  something 
like  i.  For  a  the  muscles  are  lax,  the  tongue  is  lying 
flat,  and  the  vocal  cords  vibrate.  It  is  not  at  all  like 
a  in  hat,  which  sound  does  not  exist  in  French  and 
is  a  sound  made  with  the  tongue  fairly  high  in  the 
front  of  the  rrnuth,  and  the  muscles  tight.  On  the 
contrary  the  French  a  (in  papa  for  instance),  is  pro- 
nounced with  the  tongue  flat  and  the  muscles  quite 
loose. 


VOWEL   SOUNDS  23 

This  a  is  the  most  usual  sound  of  a  or  d,  in  papa, 
papa;  nous  allames,  we  went. 

It  is  also  generally  the  sound :  (1)  of  a  in  such  com- 
binations as  as,  at(s) ;  (2)  of  i,  i,  is,  it,  ient,  following  o 
in  moi,  etc. ;  and  (3)  occasionally  of  e.  Be  very  careful 
as  to  this  word,  moi,  and  of  others  like  it,  toi,  voit, 
etc.,  as  so  many  people  pronounce  them  with  a  "  back 
a"  (the  next  sound  to  be  considered),  which  is  quite 
wrong  and  very  unpleasant  to  the  French  ear. 

(tu)  as,  (thou)  hast.  boite,  box. 

chat(s),  cat.  (je)  vois,  (I)  see. 

fenime,  woman.  (il)  voit,  (he)  sees. 

moi,  me,  I.  (Us)  voient,  (they)  see. 

a.  —  This  sound  is  somewhat  like  a  in  "  father,"  but 
it  is  more  hollow.  It  is  the  sound  spoken  of  just  now 
as  the  "  back  a."  Do  not  confuse  its  sign  a  with  a 
that  we  have  just  had.  Open  your  mouth  very  wide, 
as  wide  as  you  can,  and  draw  your  tongue  back  a  little. 

This  a  is  the  sound  occasionally  given  to  a,  especially 
in  nation,  nation;  and  in  all  French  words  ending  in 
ation. 

It  is  also  sometimes  the  sound :  (1)  of  d;  (2)  of  a  in 
such  combinations  as  as,  at,  ea ;  and  (3)  of  i,  is,  ie,  ids, 
e,  following  o. 


matin,  mastiff, 
fras,  stocking. 
climat,  climate. 

Jeanne,  Jane. 
foi,  faith. 
trois,  three. 

voie,  way. 
poids,  weight. 
poele,  stove. 

24  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

o.  —  This  is  what  is  called  the  "  open  o."  On  pro- 
nouncing this  sound  after  a,  the  last  sound  treated, 
draw  back  your  tongue  still  more,  push  your  lips  out 
a  little,  and  make  the  whole  of  your  mouth  round,  but 
keep  it  open.  It  is  very  different  from  the  English 
sound  of  o  in  not,  for  instance.  The  French  sound 
must  be  round. 

This  o  is  one  of  the  pronunciations  of  o,  au,  and  quite 
exceptionally  of  u. 

col,  collar.  Paul,  Paul.  rhum,  rum. 

o.  —  Be  particularly  careful  how  you  pronounce 
this  sound.  There  are  very  few  people  in  America 
who  do  not  give  it  a  diphthongal  form.  Look  at  your 
mouth  in  the  mirror  while  you  are  pronouncing  "  boat," 
for  instance,  and  see  how  the  lower  jaw  moves.  Say 
it  very  slowly,  so  as  to  divide  your  diphthong  into  two 
parts.  You  will  find  that  you  begin  with  your  mouth 
fairly  open,  and  end  with  it  almost  closed.  There  are 
many  different  ways  of  pronouncing  "  boat/'  varying 
from  "  ba-out,"  to  "  bo-oot,"  passing  sometimes  through 
other  vowels  on  the  way  from  the  first  of  these  sounds 
to  the  second.  But  that  vowel  is  never  really  pure  in 
English.  That  is  to  say,  it  is  never  a  single  sound 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end ;  it  is  always  a  diphthong. 

In  French  it  is  a  pure  sound,  a  single  vowel,  the 
vowel  o.  Scotch  people  generally  pronounce  it  easily. 
Push  your  lips  out,  tighten  your  cheeks  and  jaw  muscles, 
draw  your  tongue  still  farther  back  than  for  o,  and 


VOWEL  SOUNDS  25 

utter  a  sound  which  to  you  will  seem  to  be  almost 
"  oo."  Sing  it  as  often  as  possible.  Think  of  your 
tongue.  Be  sure  that  it  is  quite  still.  You  must 
practice  this  sound  very  often  at  first,  because  when 
we  have  to  pronounce  a  sound  that  we  have  perhaps 
never  pronounced  before,  our  muscles  soon  get  tirecl 
and  relax. 

This  o  is  the  other  pronunciation  of  o  and  cm,  as  in 
chose,  thing;  saucer,  to  save. 

It  is  also  sometimes  the  sound  :  (1)  of  o  and  o  in  such 
combinations  as  os,  ot(s) ;  and  (2)  of  au  in  such  combi- 
nations as  au(x),  aut(s),  aud(s),  eau(x). 

gros,  big.  ar&cftaut(s),  artichoke. 

cote,  hill.  cftaud(s),  warm. 

pot(s),  pot.  eau(x),  water. 
chevaux,  horses. 

u.  —  This  is  the  last  of  the  eight  elementary  French 
vowels.  Keep  your  muscles  tight,  push  your  lips 
still  farther  out  than  for  o,  draw  your  tongue  a  little 
farther  back,  and  you  will  say  u.  (Do  not  think  that 
this  is  the  sound  which  is  written  or  printed  "  u  "  in 
French;  it  is  written  "  on.")  Think  of  the  vowel  in 
the  English  word  "  boot/'  and  make  it  with  lips  fully 
rounded  and  face  muscles  tight.  For  u  the  lips  should 
be  pushed  out  as  far  as  possible,  and  the  tongue  drawn 
back  as  far  as  possible.  There  is  very  little  difference 
between  this  sound  and  the  last.  The  round  opening 
between  the  lips  should  be  large  enough  to  admit  the 


26  PRACTICAL  FRENCH   PHONETICS 

end  and  a  little  of  the  wood  of  a  lead  pencil  when  you 
pronounce  o,  but  only  the  lead  when  you  pronounce  u. 
This  u  is  the  regular  sound  for  ou  in  such  combina- 
tions as  ou(s)j  ou,  oue(s),  out,  oux,  oup(s),  aoul. 

cou(s),  neck.  ctoux,  sweet, 

ou,  where.  coup(s),  blow. 

roue(s),  wheel.  saoul,  drunk. 
tout,  all. 

These  eight  elementary  vowels  should  be  pronounced 
every  day  one  after  the  other,  in  the  order  in  which 
they  are  given  here.  Sing  them  up  the  scale,  and 
then  sing  in  the  reverse  order  down  the  scale.  Do  this 
several  times.  This  will  help  you  to  vocalize  more 
than  you  generally  do  perhaps,  which  is  the  very  thing 
needed  in  French.  It  will  also  help  you  to  keep  your 
muscles  still,  while  you  are  singing  each  sound,  and 
prevent  you  from  pronouncing  a  diphthong.  Hold 
each  note  as  long  as  you  can.  You  will  find  the  o  the 
most  difficult  to  keep  stead}^. 

Another  good  way  to  keep  the  lips  and  lower  jaw 
steady,  thus  preventing  the  pure  sounds  from  becom- 
ing diphthongs  is  to  put  a  pencil  between  the  teeth. 

Another  good  way  is  to  sing  each  sound  twice  :  first 
short,  to  see  whether  the  mouth  is  properly  shaped  for 
it,  and  then  long,  prolonging  the  sound  as  much  as 
possible.  The  more -you  prolong  the  sound  without 
altering  it,  the  more  quickly  will  you  train  your  muscles 
to  pronounce  it  correctly  and  to  find  their  proper 


VOWEL  SOUND'S  27 

position  at  an  instant's  notice.  See  page  49  for  daily 
exercises. 

Now  besides  these  eight  fundamental  vowels  there 
are  four  other  pure  mouth  vowels,  which  are  difficult 
to  pronounce.  One  is  the  sound  that  in  French  is 
generally  spelled  "  u."  We  have  already  referred  to  it. 
We  shall  give  it  the  sign  y.  Two  of  the  other  three  are 
spelled  "  eu,"  and  the  third  "  e."  Two  of  them  are 
particularly  hard  for  Americans  to  pronounce  correctly. 

y.  —  This  sound,  in  spite  of  its  great  difficulty,  can 
be  found  quite  mechanically  in  the  following  way. 
Put  your  mouth  in  the  right  position  for  i,  the  first 
of  the  eight  fundamental  vowels ;  that  is,  draw  the 
corners  of  your  lips  back,  as  if  you  were  going  to  smile, 
tighten  all  your  muscles,  press  the  tip  of  your  tongue 
against  the  teeth.  Then  pronounce  i,  slowly  pushing 
your  lips  as  far  out  as  you  can  without  changing  the 
position  of  your  tongue.  If  you  follow  these  directions 
exactly,  you  cannot  go  wrong. 

Put  your  tongue  in  the  right  position  for  i,  then  push 
out  your  lips.  You  should  practice  many  times,  pro- 
nouncing i y,  i y,  i y,  and  then  back- 
wards y i,  y i,  y i.  Keep  up  the  vocaliza- 
tion without  a  break ;  do  not  stop  your  voice ;  do 

not  say  i,  y,  but  i y,  and  you  will  hear  the  sound 

gradually  passing  from  i  to  y.  Do  it  very  slowly  at  first, 
so  as  to  be  sure  to  keep  your  tongue  in  exactly  the  same 
position. 


28  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

Another  trick  which  will  perhaps  help  you  to  find  this 
sound  is  to  whistle  the  highest  note  you  can,  the  very 
highest,  then  stop  whistling  and  pronounce  y.  Keep 
your  tongue  and  lips  quite  firm.  When  you  were 
whistling  your  highest  note  they  were  exactly  in  the 
right  position  for  pronouncing  y. 

Practice  i y u.  u y i.  See  exercises 

on  page  50. 

This  y  is  the  regular  sound  for  u  in  such  combina- 
tions as  u(s),  $(s),  ut,  ue(s),  and  exceptionally  of  en, 
euSj  eut,  eu,  in  the  past  tense  of  the  verb  avoir. 

tu,  thou.  eu,  had. 

(ZiO/us,  (thou)  wast.  (j)'eus,  (I)  had. 

<iu(s),  due.  07)  cut,  (he)  had. 

/ut,  cask.  (nous)  eumes,  (we)  had. 
aigue(s),  sharp. 

0.  —  This  sound,  which  is  generally  spelled  "  eux," 
bears  the  same  relation  to  the  sound  e,  that  y  does  to  i. 
Put  your  mouth  in  the  right  position  for  e,  remembering 
that  it  is  almost  the  same  as  for  i,  only  a  little  less 
closed ;  but  the  muscles  are  jus';  as  tight,  and  the 
tongue  is  still  pressed  against  the  teeth.  Now  push 
out  your  lips,  and  you  will  pronounce  0.  This  sound 
must  have  a  great  deal  of  resonance.  Be  sure  to  push 
your  lips  well  out.  Sing  it  at  first.  Some  Americans 
pronounce  it  almost  correctly,  but  do  not  push  their 
lips  out  far  enough,  so  that  there  is  not  sufficient  reso- 
nance. The  French  pronounce  the  sound  with  a  great 


VOWEL  SOUNDS  29 

deal  of  resonance,  formed  in  the  little  hollow  chamber 
between  the  lips  and  tongue,  when  the  lips  are  pushed 
out  far  enough.  Sing  it  many  times  and  then  try  again 
to  give  it  as  much  resonance  when  you  speak  it. 

Practice  e 0 o,  o 0 e.  See  exer- 
cises on  page  50. 

This  0  is  one  of  the  sounds  for  eu  in  such  combina- 
tions as  eu(s)j  oeu(x),  eu,  eut,  eux,  and  occasionally  eur, 
and  ceufs. 

Dieu,  God.  (il)  veut,  (he)  wishes. 

6£eus,  blue  (pi.)-  (je)  ^eux,  (I)  wish. 

^oeu(x),  wish.,  monsieur,  Sir,  Mr. 

jeuner,  to  fast.  oeufs,  eggs. 

oe.  —  This  is  the  other  sound  of  "  eu,"  the  open 
sound.  You  hear  it  especially  in  the  syllable  "  eur." 
It  bears  the  same  relation  to  8  that  0  does  to  e  and  that 
y  does  to  i.  That  is  to  say,  if  you  pronounce  a  good  £ 
with  the  mouth  fairly  wide  open,  your  cheek  and  jaw 
muscles  loose,  and  then  push  out  your  lips,  in  a  round 
position,  you  will  hear  oe.  A  great  many  Americans 
pronounce  this  sound  quite  easily.  It  is  not  very 
different  from  the  vowel  sound  in  her,  only  the  lips 
must  be  pushed  out  a  little  and  rounded,  The  mis- 
take that  many  Americans  make  is -to  confuse  this 
sound  with  the  previous  one,  which  is  far  more  difficult 
to  produce  correctly.  In  that  case  they  pronounce 
every  "  eu "  ce,  instead  of  distinguishing  between 
them  and  pronouncing  some  oe  and  some  0. 


30  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

Practice  e oe o.  o oe 8.  See  exer- 
cises on  page  51 

This  oe  is  the  other  sound  for  the  combinations  eu, 
ceu,  ue<  oe, 

demeure,  dwelling.  cercueil,  coffin, 

ceu/,  egg.  ceil,  eye. 

8.  —  This  sound  is  intermediate  between  0  and  oe. 
It  is  more  closed  than  oe  and  less  firm  than  0.  It  is 
the  sound  that  is  habitually  spelled  "  e  "  at  the  end 
of  many  French  monosyllables  of  two  letters  like  me, 
te,  se,  and  in  prefixes,  as  in  devenir.  It  is  practically 
always  a  short  sound.  Be  careful  to  notice  when  "  e  " 
must  be  pronounced  like  this,  and  when  it  must  be 
pronounced  e. 

This  8  is  one  of  the  sounds  for  e,  spelled  also  on  in 
monsieur,  and  sometimes  ai. 
me,  me.  monsieur,  Sir,  Mr. 

premier,  first.  faisant,  doing. 

Nasal  Vowels.  —  We  shall  now  speak  of  vowel 
sounds  which  are  peculiar  to  French  and  a  few  other 
Latin  tongues,  namely  the  nasal  vowels ;  that  is,  vowel 
sounds  that  have  their  resonance  in  the  nose.  We 
know  (page  13)  that  in  order  to  make  these  sounds  we 
have  to  lower  the  uvula,  that  soft  back  part  of  the 
palate.  That  is  why  we  said  at  the  beginning  that  it 
was  so  important  to  be  able  to  do  this  at  will  when 
speaking  French. 


VOWEL  SOUNDS  31 

There  are  no  nasal  vowels  in  English.  All  the  vowels 
are  pure  mouth  vowels.  That  is  to  say,  in  pronouncing 
English  vowels,  the  uvula  is  always  raised  against  the 
back  of  the  throat,  and  all  the  air  resonates  in  the 
mouth.  This  has  also  been  the  case  with  all  the 
French  vowels  we  have  studied  so  far. 

But  in  the  case  of  the  next  four  vowels  we  shall 
study,  the  nasal  vowels,  part  of  the  air  rises  into  the 
nose,  and  vibrates  there.  This  is  what  gives  the 
peculiar  nasal  sound  to  these  vowels.  A  great  many 
people  do  not  realize  that  these  sounds  are  vowels,  pure 
vowels,  and  they  pronounce  them  with  some  consonantal 
friction  in  the  mouth,  thus  bringing  in  the  sound  of 
n  or  ng.  Be  careful  to  avoid  this. 

They  are  represented  in  phonetics  by  the  sign  that 
signifies  the  corresponding  pure  mouth  vowel,  with  a 
little  curve  placed  over  the  vowel. 

d.  —  This  is  the  nasal  form  of  a.  Open  your  mouth 
wide,  draw  your  tongue  back,  and  say  a.  Then 
gradually  let  down  the  uvula,  till  the  sound  becomes  a. 

Practice  a a,  a a,  a a. 

Continue  vocalizing  as  when  practicing  i y, 

and  y i.  You  may  give  a  good  deal  of  nasal 

resonance  to  this  vowel.  You  must  not  raise  the  tongue, 
while  lowering  the  uvula  ;  you  will  do  so,  if  you  are 
not  careful.  Keep  your  tongue  quite  steady,  and 
bring  the  uvula  clown  towards  it.  The  uvula  must 
not  touch  the  tongue ;  or  the  sound  will  become  a  con- 


32  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

sonant,  like  the  consonant  ng  in  English.  The  French 
sound  is  a,  vowel.  The  organs  of  the  mouth  do  not 
touch  each  other.  There  is  no  friction  anywhere. 

This  a  is  the  regular  sound :  (1)  for  a  in  such  com- 
binations as  an(s),  anc(s),  ond(a),  ang(s),  ant(s),  ean, 
amp(s),  am,  aon(s)',  and  (2)  for  e  in  such  combina- 
tions as  en,  eng(s),  ent(s),  em,  emps. 

an(s),  year.  ambre,  amber. 

6Zanc(s),  white.  enfant,  child, 

grand (s),  big.  ftareng(s),  herring. 

eZang(s),  pond.  parent (s),  parent, 

cfeant(s),  song.  embaumer,  to  perfume. 

Jean,  John.  temps,  time. 

c/iamp(s),  field.  paon(s),  peacock. 

5.  —  This  is  the  nasal  form  of  an  o  vowel;  but  it  is  not 
exactly  the  nasal  form  of  o,  or  of  o,  although  it  is  un- 
doubtedly nearer  the  latter  than  the  former.  In  the 
universal  phonetic  alphabet  it  is  written  5,  so  we  must 
keep  that  sign.  But  do  not  try  to  nasalize  an  o, 
nasalize  an  o.  Pronounce  o,  and  then  lower  your 
uvula,  as  you  did  to  pronounce  a.  Perhaps  you  will 
not  find  this  very  easy.  It  is  a  little  more  difficult 
than  a,  because  your  mouth  is  so  nearly  closed  that 
you  cannot  possibly  see  your  uvula  in  the  glass.  You 
must  try  to  feel  it  coming  down.  Try  to  pronounce  a, 
and  then  push  out  your  lips,  to  the  same  position  as 
for  o. 

Practice  this  a a o,  o a a,  without 


VOWEL  SOUNDS  33 

ceasing  to  vocalize.  When  you  get  back  to  a,  be  sure 
you  raise  the  uvula  completely,  so  that  there  is  no  more 
nasal  sound  at  all. 

This  5  is  the  regular  sound  for  on  in  such  combina- 
tions as  on(s),  ont(s),  o>ng(s),  ond(s).  om(s),  omp,  omb(s), 


),  boy(s).  nom(s)>  name. 

pont(s),  bridge(s).  compter,  to  count. 

Zong(s),  long  (pi.).  pZomb(s),  lead(s). 

/ond(s),  bottom(s). 

Be  exceedingly  careful  to  keep  this  a  vowel  sound. 
Do  not  let  your  tongue  touch  your  palate  at  all.  If 
you  do,  it  will  make  the  sound  a  consonant,  not  a 
voweL 

8.  —  Again  this  is  not  the  nasal  form  of  8,  but  of  the 
English  vowel  in  "  cat/'  "  Ma'am."  That  is  to  say,  the 
mouth  must  be  more  open  than  for  the  sound  8.  Pro- 
nounce the  vowel  sound  in  "  cat,"  and  then  lower  the 
uvula.  This  sound  needs  to  be  less  nasalized  than 
the  two  preceding  ones.  Do  not  lower  the  uvula  so 
much.  Do  not  let  so  much  air  vibrate  in  the  nasal 
passages.  This  vowel  needs  to  be  only  slightly  nasal- 
ized. 

Practice  e  ---  8,  being  careful  to  open  the  mouth 
wider  in  passing  from  8  to  8. 

This  sound,  e,  is  spelled  in  a  great  many  ways  :  in(s), 
inq,  ingt(s),  im,  yn,  ym,  ain(s),  aint(s),  aim(s),  ang, 
ein(s),  eint(s),  en(s),  etc. 


34      PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


,  way(s).  wain(s),  hand. 

cinq,  five  (when  the  q  is  saint  (s),  saint. 

not  sounded).  daim(s),  deer. 

dngt(s),  twenty  (pi.).  seing,  signature. 

simple,  simple.  plem,  full. 

syntax,  syntax.  teint(s),  complexion. 

nymphe,  nymph.  chien(s),  dog. 

de.  —  This  is  the  nasalized  form  of  oe.  All  you  need 
.to  do  is  to  pronounce  oe  and  then  lower  the  uvula. 
Some  phoneticians  say  that  for  oe  the  mouth  is  a  little 
more  open  than  for  oe.  You  can  do  the  same  kind  of 
exercises  that  you  did  for  o  and  a  ;  that  is,  pronounce 
8,  and  then  round  out  the  lips,  and  you  will  say  oe. 

Practice  £  ---  8  ---  oe,  oe  ---  8  ---  8,  being  care- 
ful always  to  o"pen  the  mouth  considerably  wider  for  £ 
than  for  8.  See  exercises  on  page  53. 

This  sound  is  spelled  un(s),  um(s),  eun. 

Hun(s),  Hun.         parfum(s),  scent  jeun,  fasting. 

Summary.  —  Notice  that  French  vowels  form  a 
series  from  i  to  u.  Pronounce  i-e-s-a-a-o-o-u, 
and  notice:  (1)  that  the  tongue  starts  in  the  front  of 
the  mouth  and  is  gradually  drawn  back;  and  (2)  that 
the  lips  are  at  first  drawn  back  as  in  a  smile  and  then 
are  gradually  pushed  farther  forward,  till  for  the  sound 
of  u  they  are  in  a  pouting  position. 


CHAPTER  IV 
CONSONANTS 

Voiced  and  Voiceless  Consonants.  —  When  we  were 
speaking  of  the  vocal  cords  (page  14),  we  said  that 
certain  sounds  we  pronounce  make  them  vibrate,  while 
certain  others  do  not.  We  took  as  an  example  the 
word  "  ba-ke/'  and  we  noticed-  that  when  we  pro- 
nounced the  first  syllable  ba  the  vocal  cords  vibrated, 
but  not  so  when  we  pronounced  the  second  syllable  ke. 
Why  is  this? 

There  are  two  groups  of  speech  sounds  ;  the  voiced 
sounds  and  the  voiceless  sounds.  By  voiced  sounds 
are  meant  those  which  are  pronounced  with  vibration 
of  the  vocal  cords  ;  and  by  voiceless  sounds,  those 
which  are  pronounced  without  vibration  of  the  vocal 
cords.  All  the  vowels  are  pronounced  with  vibration 
of  the  vocal  cords.  Therefore,  they  are  all  voiced 
sounds.  But  the  consonants  are  sometimes  voiced 
and  sometimes  voiceless. 

A  consonant  is  always  pronounced  with  a  sound  of 
friction  in  the  mouth.  When  the  sound  of  friction  is 
accompanied  by  vibration  of  the  vocal  cords,  it  is 
said  to  be  voiced  ;  when  it  is  not  accompanied  by 
vibration  of  the  vocal  cords,  it  is  said  to  be  voiceless. 
Vowels,  on  the  other  hand,  are  necessarily  always  aq- 

35 


36  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

companied  by  vibration  of  the  vocal  cords,  as  they 
depend  on  the  vibration  for  their  sound  ;  they  have 
no  other  sound,  as  they  are  not  accompanied  by  a  sound 
of  friction. 

For  instance,  pronounce  the  consonant  "  b."  Try 
to  pronounce  it  unaccompanied  by  any  vowel  sound. 
Do  not  say  "  be/7  or  "  bi,"  as  in  the  alphabet.  Isolate 
the  sound  "  b."  Now  pronounce  "  p  "  in  the  same 
way.  What  is  the  difference  between  the  two?  In 
both  sounds  the  consonant  consists  of  a  little  explosion, 
as  the  lips,  after  being  pressed  closely  together,  are 
forced  apart  by  the  air  escaping  from  the  mouth.  In 
the  case  of  "  b,"  the  explosion  is  accompanied  by 
vibration  of  the  vocal  cords.  In  the  case  of  "  p,"  the 
vocal  cords  do  not  vibrate.  This  is  the  only  difference 
between  these  two  consonants.  Pronounce  "b" 
without  vibration  of  the  vocal  cords,  and  you  have 
"p";  pronounce  "p"  with  vibration  of  the  vocal 
cords,  and  you  have  "  b." 

Take  another  example :  the  second  consonant  of  the 
word  "  ba-ke,"  of  which  we  spoke  above.  Is  "  k  "  a 
voiced  consonant  or  a  voiceless  ?  Pronounce  it  without 
any  vowel  after  it,  and  listen  carefully.  Put  your 
finger  on  your  larynx,  in  the  front  of  the  throat,  as  we 
suggested  on  page  14,  and  see  if  you  can  feel  any  vibra- 
tion. Better  still,  pronounce  a  "  k,"  put  your  hands 
over  your  ears,  and  listen  for  vibration.  There  is 
none.  What  is  the  friction  that  causes  this  consonant 
sound?  Your  tongue  touches  your  palate  almost  at 


CONSONANTS  37 

the  place  where  the  hard  bone  leaves  off,  and  as  the 
breath  forces  its  way  through  between  the  tongue  and 
the  palate  the  sound  "  k  "  is  heard.  Some  people 
pronounce  it  a  little  farther  back  and  some  a  little 
farther  forward.  Pronounce  the  same  sound  with 
vibration  of  the  vocal  cords,  and  you  will  hear  a  hard 
"  g."  "  K  "  and  "  g  "  are  two  forms  of  the  same  con- 
sonant, the  voiceless  form  and  the  voiced. 

There  are  other  pairs  of  consonants,  "  d  "  and  "  t," 
"  v  "  and  "  f,"  "  z"  and  "  s,"  the  soft  "  g  "  and  "  sh." 
In  English  there  are  also  two  forms  of  the  sound  "  th," 
the  sound  in  "  there  "  and  "  thin." 

We  are  going  to  take  the  French  forms  of  these  con- 
sonants one  by  one,  as  we  have  done  for  the  vowels. 
First,  however,  let  us  consider  a  general  principle 
which  applies  to  all  French  consonants  as  compared 
with  all  English  consonants. 

All  French  voiced  consonants,  b,  d,  g  (hard),  m,  n,  v,  z, 
etc.,  are  pronounced  with  much  more  voice  than  the 
corresponding  English  consonants.  And  the  French 
voiceless  consonants,  p,  t,  k,  /,  s,  etc.,  are  pronounced 
with  far  less  breath  than  the  corresponding  English 
consonants.  You  should  practice  constantly  to  acquire 
the  ability  to  make  this  distinction. 

To  make  your  voiced  consonants  mo  re v  voiced,  put 
your  tongue  and  lips  in  the  right  position  for  forming 
the  consonant,  and  then  try  to  make  your  vocal  cords 
vibrate  before  actually  forming  the  sound.  When 
your  tongue  and  lips  are  in  the  right  position,  try  to 


38      PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

pronounce  a  kind  of  "  m  "  or  "  n,"  before  "  b  "  or 
"  d,"  etc.  You  will  hear  a  kind  of  nasal  sound,  formed 
by  the  breath  vibrating  in  the  nasal  passages  since 
it  cannot  circulate  freely  in  the  mouth  because  your 
organs  are  in  position  to  pronounce  the  consonant. 
Put  a  great  deal  of  energy  into  these  exercises.  Do 
not  be  satisfied  until  your  voiced  consonants  have  as 
much  tone  in  them  as  a  Frenchman's.  It  is  only  a 
matter  of  exercise  and  perseverance. 

Then  to  make  your  voiceless  consonants  smoother, 
to  pronounce  them  with  less  escape  of  breath,  you 
should  try  to  pronounce  the  corresponding  English 
voiced  consonants  without  voice.  This  seems  a  con- 
tradiction of  terms.  So  it  is,  but  the  effort  gives  the 
required  result.  For  instance,  pronounce  an  English 
"  b,"  that  is  a  "  b  "  with  very  little  voice,  and  gradually 
eliminate  the  voice,  but  without  adding  more  breath, 
and  you  will  pronounce  the  French  "  p." 

We  shall  next  take  up  the  different  French  conso- 
nants in  order. 

p.  —  As  we  have  just  explained,  this  is  a  voiceless 
consonant,  and  therefore  it  must  be  pronounced  in 
French  with  much  less  escape  of  breath  than  in  Eng- 
lish. When  you  have  done  what  is  advised  above,  that 
is  to  say,  when  you  have  pronounced  an  English  "  b  " 
without  voice,  try  putting  a  sheet  of  thin  paper  in  front 
of  your  mouth,  to  see  how  much  breath  escapes.  Pro- 
nounce first  an  English  "  p,"  and  then  a  French  p,  and 


CONSONANTS  39 

see  if  the  paper  moves  considerably  less  for  the  French 
p  than  for  the  English  ;  or,  better  still,  light  a  very 
small  candle,  like  those  used  on  a  Christmas  tree,  and 
hold  the  flame  immediately  in  front  of  your  lips.  If 
you  pronounce  a  vigorous  English  "  p/'  the  flame  will 
probably  go  out  ;  whereas,  if  you  pronounce  a  good 
French  p,  that  is,  a  very  gentle  one,  the  flame  will  move 
only  very  slightly.  Make  all  the  difference  you  can 
between  the  English  "  pa ,  "  and  the  French  "  papa." 

b.  —  This  is  the  voiced  form  of  "p."  Put  your  lips 
together  as  if  you  were  going  to  pronounce  "  b,"  and 
before  pronouncing  it,  try  to  pronounce  an  "  m  "  with 
your  lips  closed,  then  bring  them  apart  for  b.  What 
you  have  to  do  is  to  make  your  vocal  cords  vibrate 
before  allowing  your  lips  to  separate  for  the  b.  Your 
vocal  cords  must  vibrate  much  more  for  this  sound 
than  in  pronouncing  English  "  b." 

t.  —  Apply  the  same  method  here  that  we  suggested 
for  the  p.  The  "  t  "  is  a  voiceless  consonant  like  p. 
Therefore  you  must  pronounce  it  with  far  less  breath 
in  French  than  in  English.  Pronounce  an  English  "  d  " 
with  the  tongue  touching  the  palate  just  behind  the 
teeth.  This  is  'the  correct  position  for  French  t.  So 
pronounce  an  English  "  d  "  and  then  gradually  stop 
vibrating  your  vocal  cords.  In  English  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  "  t  "  causes  quite  a  large  puff  of  breath  from 
the  mouth.  For  the  French  t,  there  must  be  little 


40  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

of  this.     If  you  pronounce  it   correctly,  you  should 
feel  hardly  any  escape  of  breath. 

d.  —  This  is  the  voiced  form  of  t.  Try  the  same 
method  as  for  b.  Put  your  tongue  in  the  right  position 
for  English  "  d/'  and  then  vibrate  your  vocal  cords 
as  if  you  were  going  to  pronounce  "  n  "  before  actually 
drawing  your  tongue  away  from  the  palate  to  pro- 
nounce d.  That  is,  allow  your  vocal  cords  to  vibrate 
as  much  as  possible,  much  more  than  for  the  English 
"d," 

k.  —  The  same  principles  apply  here.  This  is  a 
voiceless  consonant  (it  is  generally  written  "  c  "  or 
"  qu  "  in  French)  pronounced  with  the  middle  of  the 
tongue  raised  against  the  middle  of  the  palate,  about 
where  the  hard  bone  ends  (see  page  12).  Again  here 
there  must  be  little  escape  of  breath  when  pronouncing 
the  French  k.  Pronounce  an  English  hard  "  g,"  and 
then  stop  vibrating  the  vocal  cords.  The  sound  must 
be  perfectly  soft  and  gentle.  Place  your  hand  against 
your  lower  lip  and,  if  you  pronounce  the  French  k 
properly,  you  will  feel  practically  no  escape  of  breath. 

g.  —  This  is  the  voiced  form  of  k.  Put  your  tongue 
in  the  right  position  and  try  to  produce  a  sound  like 
the  English  "  ng "  in  "  sing/'  before  letting  your 
tongue  go.  That  is  to  say,  make  your  vocal  cords 
vibrate  as  much  as  possible  before  you  actually  utter 
the  sound. 


CONSONANTS  41 

m,  n.  —  These  are  of  course  nasal  consonants,  and 
the  nasal  consonants  have  much  more  resonance  in 
French  than  in  English. 

They  are  of  course  voiced.  Practice  them  with 
much  energy  ;  make  as  much  noise  as  you  can.  Let 
them  vibrate  in  your  nose.  Practice  them  with  as 
much  reverberation  as  possible.  Then  you  will  grad- 
ually acquire  the  habit  of  giving  them  resonance  as 
French  people  do. 

ji.  —  This  is  the  third  French  voiced  nasal  consonant 
sound.  We  have  one  something  like  it  in  English, 
"  ng  "  in  words  like  "  sing."  But  this  is  of  course 
not  pronounced  like  "  n  "  followed  by  "  g."  It  is 
quite  a  different  sound,  pronounced  by  touching  the 
soft  palate  with  the  tongue.  The  French  sound  is 
not  the  same  as  this  English  one.  It  is  the  sound  that 
is  habitually  written  "  gn,"  in  words  like  "  montagwe," 
"  agneau,"  etc.  It  is  pronounced  by  touching  the 
palate  with  the  tongue  but  farther  forward  than  in 
English.  The  tongue  must  touch  the  hard  palate,  and 
above  all,  the  point  of  the  tongue  must  be  kept  well 
behind  the  lower  teeth. 

Many  foreigners  and  not  a  few  provincial  French 
people  pronounce  it  nj  instead  of  ji,  but  this  is  of  course 
a  mistake.  You  get  nj  in  words  like  "  opinion  "  and 
"  pam'er."  The  second  sound  in  nj  is  pronounced  with 
the  tip  of  the  tongue  raised  (see  page  45).  That  is 
why  in  pronouncing  n  it  is  well  to  keep  the  tip  of  the 


42  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

tongue  down  behind  the  lower  teeth,  so  as  to  be  sure 
not  to  pronounce  nj.  Also  in  nj  the  palate  is  touched 
farther  forward,  that  is  to  say,  n  is  pronounced  farther 
forward  in  the  mouth  than  ji. 

w.  —  This  is  practically  the  same  consonant  as  in 
English.  It  is  the  consonant  form  of  u  (see  vowels). 
Pronounce  u  with  the  lips  well  forward,  and  the  tongue 
well  back,  bringing  your  lips  a  little  closer  together, 
and  you  will  have  the  consonant  w.  It  is  spelled  o  in 
many  French  words  ending  in  oiy  for  instance  moi,  toi, 
soi,  loi,  roi,  where  the  "  i  "  is  pronounced  a  after  it. 
Be  careful  not  to  pronounce  this  "  i  "  like  a  after  the 
sound  w,  as  so  many  Americans  do.  Practice  m  -  w  -  a, 
moi  (me)  ;  t  -  w  -  a,  toi  (thee). 

it.  —  This  sound  does  not  exist  in  English,  and  is 
very  difficult  to  pronounce.  It  is  written  \i  because  it 
is  the  consonant  form  of  y.  It  is  the  consonant  that 
y  becomes  when  it  is  followed  by  certain  vowels, 
especially  i.  You  must  follow  the  same  process  as  for 
w.  That  is  to  say,  pronounce  y,  the  tongue  and  lips 
as  far  forward  as  possible.  Bring  the  lips  together,  so 
that  they  touch  lightly,  and  you  will  have  the  con- 
sonant i[.  It  is  best,  however,  to  practice  the  sound 
in  another  way.  It  is  constantly  followed  by  the 
vowel  i,  and  in  this  connection  gives  endless  trouble 
to  Americans.  So  practice  pronouncing  first  the  vowel 
y,  then  the  consonant  q,  and  then  the  vowel  i.  The 
y  -  it  -  i,  y-n-i 


CONSONANTS  43 

three  will  glide  insensibly  into  one  another.     Then  pre- 
fix a  consonant,  for  instance  p. 

p  -  y  -  q  -  i,  p  -  y  -  q  -  i,  etc. 

Be  careful  to  pronounce  four  sounds.  Little  by 
little  you  will  eliminate  the  vowel  y  and  pronounce 
the  word  "  puis  "  as  it  should  be  pronounced  p  -  q  -  i 
without  any  vowel  between  the  p  and  the  q.  But  it  is 
useless  at  first  to  attempt  to  pronounce  the  consonant, 
without  beginning  with  the  vowel  that  leads  to  it.  It 
is  a  consonant  that  we  are  totally  unused  to  pronounc- 
ing. Therefore,  start  by  pronouncing  the  vowel  y  before 
attempting  the  consonant  q. 

Practice  in  this  way  all  the  words  in  ui,  for  instance  : 

y  -  il  -  i  -  t  (huit,  eight). 
y  -  q  -  i  -  1  (huile,  oil). 
1  -  y  -  il  -  i  (lui,  he) . 
n  -  y  -  q  -  i  (nuit,  night). 
a-n-y-q-i  (ennui,  worry) . 
s  -  y  -  it  -  i  (suis,  (I)  am). 
b-r-y-q-i  (bruit,  noise). 
r-y-t[-i-s-o  (ruisseau,  stream). 

Then  leave  out  the  vowel  y  and  pronounce : 

q-i-t         1-q-i          a-n-q-i          b-r-q-i 
q-i-1          n-q-i          s  -  q  -  i  r-q-i-s-o 

Hyphens  have  been  purposely  left  between  the  sounds 
to  show  you  that  the  best  way  to  practice  the  sounds  is 
always  to  prolong  each  one  before  pronouncing  the 


44  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

next.     This  insures  more  care  and  better  training  for 
the  ear. 

f .  —  There  is  very  little  to  be  said  about  f .  It  is  a 
voiceless  consonant,  so  pronounce  it  gently  in  French. 

v.  —  This  is  a  voiced  consonant.  Pronounce  it  with 
plenty  of  voice.  If  you  do  not,  it  will  sound  like  an  f 
to  a  French  ear.  Do  the.  same  exercises  as  for  b,  d,  g, 
etc.  Try  to  vocalize,  to  make  your  vocal  cords  vibrate, 
before  you  take  your  upper  teeth  from  your  lower  lip 
and  then  pronounce  v  with  a  great  deal  of  energy. 

s.  —  This  is  a  voiceless  sound.  Do  not  hiss  it  so 
much  as  in  English  and  remember  that  unlike  the 
English  it  is  generally  not  pronounced  at  the  end  of 
words  in  French.  But  there  are  of  course  exceptions 
to  this  rule. 

z.  —  This  is  the  corresponding  voiced  consonant. 
Vocalize  it  well.  Do  as  you  did  for  the  nasal  conso- 
nants. Pronounce  it  with  a  great  deal  of  energy.  It 
should  tire  you  at  first,  if  you  do  it  with  enough  force. 
Little  by  little  you  should  be  able  to  do  it  with  just  as 
much  energy,  but  without  its  tiring  you. 

$.  —  This  is  the  voiceless  sh  sound,  usually  spelled 
"  ch  "  in  French.  Pronounce  it  less  energetically  than 
in  English,  and  notice  that  in  English  it  is  habitually 
preceded  by  the  sound  of  "  t  ";  for  instance,  "  (t)child," 
"  (t) change,"  etc.  In  French  this  is  not  so. 


CONSONANTS  45 

3.  —  This  is  the  corresponding  voiced  consonant 
generally  spelled  "  j  "  in  French.  In  English  it  is  the 
sound  that  is  spelled  "  g  "  (soft)  or  "  j,"  except  that 
in  English  a  "  d  "  is  always  sounded  before  it  ;  as  for 
example,  "  (d) George, "  "  (d) James/7  etc.  It  is  pro- 
nounced without  the  "  d  "  in  the  English  word 
"  leisure."  Give  it  plenty  of  voice  in  French,  or  it 
will  sound  to  a  French  ear  too  much  like  the  $  referred 
to  above. 

j. — This  is  the  voiced  consonant  which  is  written 
"  y,"  in  English,  as  in  "  you,"  "  yet,"  etc.  In  French 
it  most  frequently  occurs  to  indicate  the  pronunciation 
of  what  is  called  the  liquid  "  1  "  (1  mouillee).  Words 
like  "  fille,"  "  briller,"  must  be  pronounced  fij,  brije. 
This  sound  is  also  often  given  to  "  i,"  as,  for  instance, 
in  "  bien  "  =  bje.  It  is  the  consonantal  form  of  i,  just 
as  w  is  the  consonantal  form  of  u,  and  it  of  y.  When 
you  pronounce  i,  your  tongue  is  very  high  in  the  front 
of  your  mouth.  If  you  raise  it  a  little  higher,  you  hear 
first  of  all  a  slight  whistling  sound,  as  the  air  forces 
its  way  between  the  tongue  and  the  gums.  If  you 
raise  it  a  very  little  more,  you  hear  the  consonant  j. 
You  must  be  very  careful  to  pronounce  it  distinctly  at 
the  end  of  words  ending  in  eil  or  ail.  You  must  pro- 
nounce "  soleil,"  solsj  and  not  simply  sole,  as  so  many 
Americans  do. 

r.  —  We  come  now  to  the  important  sound  of  r. 
There  are  in  fact  two  r's  in  French  :  a  dental  conso- 


46  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

nant  r,  and  a  uvula  consonant  R.  They  differ  from 
English  "  r  "  in  that  they  are  always  distinctly  pro- 
nounced. 

The  dental  r  is  the , easier  to  acquire.  It  is  trilled 
on  the  tip  of  the  tongue  directly  behind  the  upper 
teeth. 

But  the  uvula  R  is  more  typically  French.  It  is 
pronounced  by  trilling  the  uvula  instead  of  the  tip  of 
the  tongue.  This  is  the  R  that  is  heard  in  Paris  among 
educated  people,  and  in  most  of  the  big  towns.  It  is 
taking  the  place  of  the  front  r,  which  is  still  heard  in 
the  south  and  in  country  districts.  You  must  not 
confuse  this  R  with  the  r  grasseye,  as  it  is  called,  by 
which  is  generally  meant  a  disagreeable  scraping  of  the 
throat  substituted  by  vulgar  people  in  Paris  for  the 
uvula  R. 

To  pronounce  the  uvula  R,  all  you  have  to  do  is  to 
try  to  make  the  uvula  more  supple.  Put  water  in 
your  mouth  and  gargle  frequently.  You  will  be  able 
to  make  the  uvula  vibrate  at  once  in  this  way.  Then 
gradually  try  it  without  water.  Once  you  have  learned 
how  to  make  your  uvula  vibrate  at  will,  you  will  easily 
learn  how  to  pronounce  all  the  different  vowels  and 
consonants  coming  both  before  and  after  R. 

If  you  find  that  you  cannot  pronounce  the  uvula  R 
after  several  days  of  constant  practice,  it  is  best  to 
give  it  up  and  content  yourself  with  trilling  the  tongue. 
Both  these  ways  of  pronouncing  the  r  are  French. 
Provided  you  succeed  in  producing  a  trill,  it  does  not 


CONSONANTS  47 

matter  whether  it  is  on  the  end  of  the  tongue  or  at 
the  uvula.  Certain  students,  who  persist  in  trying  to 
make  the  uvula  vibrate  when  they  have  great  difficulty 
in  doing  so,  succeed  only  in  making  a  very  disagreeable 
sound.  But  this  is  true  of  only  a  very  small  propor- 
tion of  pupils.  Most  people  find  it  quite  easy  after  a 
little  practice.  Practice  the  uvula  R,  first  before  the 
vowel  a  ;  then  prefix  the  consonant  g  to  it,  like  this : 

r a,  r a,  and  then  g r a,  g r a, 

etc. 

Practice  the  front  r,  first  before  the  vowel  i  ;    and 

then  after  the  consonant  d,  thus  :     r i,  r i, 

d r i?  d r [. 

1.  —  This  is  the  last  consonant  and  it  is  almost  as 
important  as  r.  In  America  it  is  often  pronounced 
with  a  good  deal  of  the  front  of  the  tongue  touching 
the  palate,  which  gives  a  very  thick  sound.  It  should 
be  pronounced  in  French  with  only  the  tip  of  the  tongue 
touching  the  palate.  If  you  have  the  artificial  palate 
that  we  spoke  of  on  page  5,  Chapter  I,  use  it  freely  for 
the  practice  of  this  sound. 

In  English  also  the  tip  of  the  tongue  is  curled  up, 
and  back.  In  French  the  tip  of  the  tongue  retains  its 
natural  position,  downwards,  and  just  touches  the 
palate  behind  the  teeth. 

Begin  by  practicing  words  that  commence  with  1  in 
French:  "  levre,"  "  liquide,"  "  livre,"  and  then 
practice,  "  il,"  "  elle,"  "aile,"  etc.,  with  1  as  the  final 


48  PRACTICAL   FRENCH  PHONETICS 

sound,  and  try  to  give  exactly  the  same  sound  as  for 
initial  1.  Then,  little  by  little,  introduce  words  that 
have  1  in  the  middle.  Some  of  these  you  will  find 
very  difficult.  Begin  with  the  ones  that  have  1  after  a 
vowel  that  is  clearly  pronounced,  as,  for  instance, 
"  balcon,"  "  sellier,"  "  Malvy,"  etc.  Then  come  to 
words  like  "  matelas  "  which  you  will  find  the  most 
difficult,  because  in  English,  1  after  t  is  almost  a  new 
consonant,  as  it  is  pronounced  by  many  people.  And 
in  words  like  "  matelas  "  in  French  the  vowel  "  e  " 
is  so  little  pronounced  that  the  1  comes  almost  im- 
mediately after  the  t. 

Begin  by  pronouncing  "  ma-te-las,"  "  ma-te-lot," 
"  cou-te-las,"  etc.,  in  three  distinct  syllables.  Little  by 
little  you  will  be  able  to  pronounce  them  with  hardly 
any  "e"  in  the  middle,  as  French  people  do,  without 
at  the  same  time  spoiling  your  1. 


CHAPTER  V 
DAILY   EXERCISES 

VOWELS 
Sing  up  the  scale  : 

i  -,   i  ,  e-,  e  ,   8-,   8-  --,   a-, 

a ,  a  -,  a ~,  o-,  o ,  o  -,  o , 

u  -,  u . 

Sing  down  the  scale  : 

u  -,    u ,    o  -,    o -  -,    o  -,    o ,    a  -, 

i  -,  i . 

Repeat  each  of  these  two  exercises  at  least  twice. 
Say,  or  sing  on  one  note,  the  five  following  exercises, 
repeating  each  one  at  least  twice  : 

i y u>        u y i. 

e 0 o.         o 0 e. 

8 oo o.         o 03 e. 

Q Q 5.  3 Q Q. 

8 e 62.        ce e 8. 

These  exercises  should  all  be  pronounced  carefully 
two  or  three  times. 

After  these  vowel  exercises  pronounce  daily  as  many 
of  the  following  sentences  as  you  can,  carrying  out  the 

49 


50  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

instructions  on  the  pronunciation  of  consonants  given 
in  Chapter  IV.  You  should  do  some  of  each  series  every 
day. 

i.  —  il  vi  isi.  II  vit  ici. 

si  mil  si  si  si  vit.  Six  mille  six  scies  scient  vite. 

pri  dri  do  vni: 1  r  1m*  fini:r  Prie  Henri   de  venir  lui  finir  la 

la  dviiz.  devise, 

vit  n  ezit  pa  da  di:r  ton  2  Vite  n'hesite  pas  de  dire  ton 

avi.  avis. 

e.  —  30  se  ko  to  pje  e  blese.  Je  sais  que  ton  pied  est  blesse. 

me  3  kle  e  te  de  sot  o  kafe.  Mes    clefs   et  tes  des  sont  au 

cafe, 

vone  mar$e  a  kote  do  se  Venez  marcher  a  cote  de  ces 

pre.  pres. 

verse  la  kafe  e  lo  te.  Versez  le  cafe  et  le  the. 


1  This  sign  is  used  in  phonetics  to  indicate  those  syllables  in  which 
the  vowel  is  definitely  long.     A  vowel  followed  by  this  sign  is  held 
longer  than  the  others.     In  these  daily  exercises  we  have  put  the 
quantity  sign  only  where  the  length  of  the  vowel  is  to  be  particularly 
marked ;     as  the  difference  in  quantity  between  the  vowels  is  very 
slight,   when  you  are  pronouncing  exercises  slowly  and  with  care. 
In  these  exercises  all  the  vowels  should  be  given  full  length  for  the 
sake  of  clearness  and  precision.     Farther  on,  in  the  stories  and  poetry 
the  quantity  signs  are  regularly  given  wherever  required. 

2  When  there  is  a  nasal  vowel  at  the  end  of  a  word  and  the  next 
word  begins  with  a  vowel  also,  the  n  must  be  sounded  as  well  as  the 
nasal  vowel  on  account  of  the  liaison.     Of  course  this  n  is  always 
marked  in  phonetics. 

3  There  is  a  good  deal  of  difference  of  opinion  among  phoneticians, 
as  to  the  pronunciation  of  the  syllable  es  at  the  end  of  the  little  words 
"les, "  "tes,"  "ses,"  etc.     But  we  have  given  here  the  pronunciation 
which  is  most  generally  accepted  and  is  considered  the  most  modern. 
Some  French  people  pronounce  these  words  le,  t8,  se,  etc.     If  one 
cares  to  go  into  phonetics  more  thoroughly,  he  will  find  that  there  is 
distinctly  a  third   sound  for   the  letter  "e"  in   French,  intermediate 
between  e  and  8,  and  this  is  perhaps  ths  sound  which  is  pronounced 
in  these  words- 


DAILY   EXERCISES 


51 


e.  —  me  ta  te:t  syr  la  te  d 

orcje. 

fe  so  me  avek  sykse. 
pre  do  mireij  so  tne  de 

lake. 

il  avet  yn  eil  pre  d  el. 
a.  —  papa  mo  vwa  lo  swair. 
lo  $a  a  la  pat  sal. 
la    lam    d  asje  e  da  la 

bwat. 
twa    e    mwa    nu    vwajo 

1  wazo. 
a.  —  il  j  a  trwa  pulaje  da  lo 

bwa. 
ramase  la  pwail. 

10  klima  e  frwa. 
la  nasjo  ga:ji. 

o.  —  la  bon  ora  lo  bol. 

1  om  soldo  lo  kol. 

pol  koji  syr  lo  sol. 

ofro  dy  rom  a  1  espajiol 

dy  tirol. 
o.  —  lo  po  do  $o:d  et  a  o. 

so:v  le  po:vroz  animo. 
3ano  so  so:v  avok  le  so. 
le  flo  roo:s  lo  nivo  do  1  o. 

u.  —  pu:s  ta  luirdo  buil  ver  la 
fu:l. 

u:vro  lo  $u  puir  la  pu:l. 

tu  le  3alu  so  de  fu. 

vuz  avez  ublje  le  nuij. 
Y-  —  ty  yz  yno  bry  brytal. 

11  fy  5yst  yno  minyt. 
ma  3yipo  prym  et  yze. 
il  syfi  d  yno  lyit. 


Mets    ta    tete    sur    la    taie 

d'oreiller. 

Fais  ce  mets  avec  succes. 
Pres  de  Mireille  se  tenait  un 

laquais. 

II  avait  une  aile  pres  d'elle. 
Papa  me  voit  le  soir. 
Le  chat  a  la  patte  sale. 
La   lame   d'acier   est   dans   la 

boite. 
Toi      et     moi     nous      voyons 

Foiseau. 
II  y  a  trois  poulaillers  dans  le 

bois. 

Ramassez  la  poele. 
Le  climat  est  froid. 
La  nation  gagne. 
La  bonne  aura  le  bol. 
L'homme  solde  le  col. 
Paul  cogne  sur  le  sol. 
Off  re  du  rhum  a  1'Espagnol  du 

Tyrol. 
Le   pot   d'eau   chaude   est   en 

haut. 

Sauve  les  pauvres  animaux. 
Jeannot  se  sauve  avec  les  seaux. 
Les  flots  rehaussent  le  niveau 

de  Feau. 
Pousse  la  lourde  boule  vers  la 

foule. 

Ouvre  le  chou  pour  la  poule. 
Tous  les  jaloux  sont  des  foux. 
Vous  avez  oublie  les  nouilles. 
Tu  eus  une  bru  brutale. 
II  fut  juste  une  minute. 
Ma  jupe  prune  est  usee. 
II  suffit  d'une  lutte. 


52 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


0.  —  30  v0  d0z  0  b!0. 
se  d0  vj0  s5  id0. 
S0  ki  sot  oer0  so  de  dj0. 

il  v^  de  §v0  mervej0. 
oe.  —  leer  flceir  so  la  terosir  de 
boksoeir. 

10  boef  do  1  avoegl  et  a 
arsatoeij. 

1  orgoeij   do  ma  soeir  et 
eferjoeir  o  loe:r. 

1  oef  dy  5oen  doktoeir  e  da 

le  fce:j. 

a.  —  lo  foza  e  solqi  do  mosj0 
broton0. 

11  mo  lo  di. 

mi  £050  notro  promje  do- 

vwair. 

30  to  rodon  to  portoplym. 
a.  —  lo  ba  do  ta  tait  e  da  lo  ka. 

pra  1  afa  e  se  para. 
3<i  s  et  afose  da  lo  $a. 

lo  ta  mo  mak  pur  $ate  se 


5.  —  5  di  ko  so  garso  e  poltro  e 

so.  f  5. 

b5  nobro  do  so  so  lo. 
kot  le  do  k  il  nu  fo. 

so  mo  e  lo  sogo  da  so  val 

profo. 
e.  —  el  a  rese  lo  1§3  f  e  so  mate. 

ve  Sje  ot  ate  lo  de. 


Je  veux  deux  oeufs  bleus. 
Ces  deux  vieux  sont  hideux. 
Ceux  qui  sont  heureux  sont  des 

dieux. 

II  veut  des  cheveux  merveilleux. 
Leurs  fleurs  sont  la  terreur  des 

boxeurs. 
Le    boeuf    de    Faveugle    est    a 

Argenteuil. 
L'orgeuil  de  ma  soeur  est  in- 

ferieur  au  leur. 
L'oeuf    du    jeune    docteur    est 

dans  les  feuilles. 
Le  faisan  est  celui  de  Monsieur 

Bretonneux. 
II  me  le  dit. 
Nous    faisons    notre    premier 

devoir. 

Je  te  redonne  ton  porteplume. 
Le  bane  de  ta  tante  est  dans  le 

camp. 

Prends  1' enfant  et  ses  parents. 
Jean    s'est    enfonce    dans    le 

champ. 
Le    temps    me    manque    pour 

chanter  ses  louanges. 
On  dit  que  ce  gargon  est  poltron 

et  sans  fond. 

Bon  nombre  de  sons  sont  longs. 
Compte   les   dons   qu'ils  nous 

font. 
Ce  mont  est  le  second  dans  ce 

val  profond. 
Elle    a    rince*    le    linge    fin    ce 

matin. 
Vingt    chiens    ont    atteint    le 

daim. 


DAILY   EXERCISES 


53 


dome  lo   skryte   arivara 

bjen  a  pwe. 
la  vile  a  pese  la  me  dy 

sakriste. 

-  sa  parfde  e  komce. 
1  oebla  garso  a  oe  $apo  brce. 

set  aloe  et  a  kelkce. 
okce  n  et  a  363. 


Demain    le    scrutin    arrivera 

bien  a  point. 
Le  vilain  a  pince  la  main  du 

sacristain. 

Ce  parfum  est  commun. 
L' humble  gargon  a  un  chapeau 

brun. 

Get  alun  est  a  quelqu'un. 
Aucun  n'est  a  jeun. 


CONSONANTS 


p.  —  papa  parl  pu:r  pol. 

pra  la   pilyil   avek  pre- 

kosjo. 
pj:er  aporta  le  pryno  sy:r 

la  pla. 
pe:$      le      pwaso      avek 

pasjais. 
b.  —  la  beg  abadon  la  bibl. 

la  bo  baba  e  pur  la  bebe. 
il  a  bje  by;  36  63  bo  pur- 

bwair. 
le   bobo   so   tobe   da   la 

bute:j. 

t.  —  ta  tas  da  te  gerira  ta  tu. 
ta  temerite  sara  $atje. 
t  e  ty  frote  ta  te:t. 
ta  tata  ta  ta  yna  tart. 
d.  —  dido  dina,  dit  5,  dy  do  dee 

dody  dedo. 
la  dam  distribya  de  ga  da 

de. 
dan j  elm  a  done  yna  dat 

bje  dy:r. 
dima$  dernje  36  descene 

avek  la  dyk  da  drezd. 


Papa  parle  pour  Paul. 
Prends     la    pilule    avec    pr6- 

caution. 
Pierre    apporta    les    pruneaux 

sur  le  plat. 
Peche      les      poissons      avec 

patience. 

Le  begue  abondonne  la  bible. 
Le  beau  baba  est  pour  le  bebe. 
II  a  bien  bu :  j'ai  un  bon  pour- 

boire. 
Les  bonbons  sont  tombe's  dans 

la  bouteille. 

Ta  tasse  de  the  gu£rira  ta  toux. 
Ta  temerite  sera  chatiee: 
T'es-tu  frotte  ta  tete. 
Ta  tante  te  tend  une  tarte. 
Didon    dina,    dit-on,    du    dos 

d'un  dodu  dindon. 
La  dame  distribua  des  gants  de 

daim. 
Daniel  m'a  donne*   une  datte 

bien  dure. 
Dimanche  dernier,  j'ai  dejeun6 

avec  le  due  de  Dresde. 


54 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


k.  —  la  kake  o  kjoska  ko:z  yna 
kofyzjS. 

10  kediv    kryel    kas    de 
kakawet. 

36  krave  la  kaktys  avek 

ma  kan. 
ke:l  kakofoni ! 
g.  —  la  gargot  8  grad. 

kel  rapa  gargatyesk !   di 

gros  gofret ! 
la  garnityir,  la  gro  gre  e  la 

gas. 

11  a  gajie  so  gargarism. 
m.  —  mama  m  a  motre  la  mod. 

madam     la     marki:z     a 

make  la  me:s. 
mime     le     manjeir     da 

madarn  mam. 
la  mimoza  8  mervej0. 
n.  —  nenet    n   e  ni  nigoid  ni 

noerastenik. 
no !   no !   n5 !  na  done  pa 

notra  nuga. 
la  bon  nwazet  et  a  la  non. 

nu  nuo  de  n0  a  la  nuris. 
ji.  —  akopaji  1  ajio  a  la  motaiji. 
le  sijio  sot  alijie  a  avijio. 

de:n  m  asejie  a  swajie  mo 

kopano. 

groji,  me  pejia  twa. 
w.  —  mwa,  33  raswa  trwa  vila- 

SWQ  e  twa  de  burswa. 
ty  krwaz  avwar  frwa  $e 

mwa. 


Le  caquet  au  kiosque  cause  une 

confusion. 
Le    khedive    cruel    casse    des 

cacahuetes. 
J'ai  creve  le  cactus  avec  ma 

canne. 

Quelle  cacophonie ! 
La  gargotte  est  grande. 
Quel  repas  gargantuesque !  dix 

grosses  gauf rettes ! 
La  garniture,  le  gros  grain  et 

la  ganse. 

II  a  gagne  son  gargarisme. 
Maman  m'a  montre  la  mode. 
Madame  la  Marquise  a  manque 

la  messe. 
Mirnez       les       manieres       de 

Madame  Mame. 
Le  mimosa  est  merveilleux. 
Nenette    n'est   ni   niguade   ni 

neur  ast  heni  que . 
Non !    non !    non !    ne  donnez 

pas  notre  nougat. 
La    bonne    noisette    est    a   la 

nonne. 
Nous  nouons  des  noauds  a  la 

nourrice. 
Accompagne     Fagneau    &    la 

montagne. 
Les    signaux    sont    alignes    a 

Avignon. 
Daigne  m'enseigner  a  soigner 

mon  compagnon. 
Grogne,  mais  peigne-toi. 
Moi,  je  regois  trois  villageois 

et  toi  un  bourgeois. 
Tu  crois  avoir  froid  chez  moi. 


DAILY  EXERCISES 


55 


el  vwa  1  wazo  syr  la  pwail. 
33  1  aperswa  yno  fwa  par 

mwa. 
q.  —  pqi  el  a  esqije  la  sqi  ki 

1  anqije. 

el  fqi  dy  pqi  avek  la  bqi. 
o.surdqi,  la  qi  5qe,  5  etrodqi 

lo  sqis  $e  Iqi. 
sa  kodqit  nqit  a  otrqi. 
£.  —  1   fu    d   la   fore    a   ete 

fudrwaje. 

ia  fortyn  f  e  la  fors. 
il  a  fete  sa  f  e:t  a  fevrje. 
f  ernad  f  e  friir  de  fe:v. 
v.  —  vule  vu  vniir  ma  vwair? 
vwaje  la  vo  e  la  va:$. 
la  vwaze  ve:j  dd  la  vilas 

da  velizi. 
1  volceir  vol  de  vwatyir  a 

versaij. 
s.  —  se  si  sosisS  si  so  sale. 

n  swa  pa  si  sovas  a  sware. 
la   satinel   syrveij    ie   si 

sijio. 

el  sys  dy  sykra  suva. 
z.  —  sezar  sezi  la  zebr. 

la  zwav  zele  a  $wazi  yn 

roiz. 
raze  avek  de  razwar  e  $oz 

eze. 
la  kurtwazi  e  la  poezi  so 

da  sezo  an  azi. 


S-  —  $&3e 

il  a  SySote  a  la  $apel. 
le  pwa  $i$  e  le  $u  s 

Sate  sa  fa^.e  la  pa^a. 


Elle  voit  Poiseau  sur  le  poe'le. 
Je  Fapergois  une  fois  par  mois. 

Puis  elle  a  essuye  la  suie  qu$ 

Fennuyait. 

Elle  fuit  dr  puits  avec  le  buis. 
Aujourd'hui,  le  huit  juin,  j'in- 

troduis  le  Suisse  chez  lui. 
Sa  conduite  nuit  a  autrui. 
Le    fou     de    la    foret    a    ete 

foudroye. 

La  fortune  fait  la  force. 
II  a  fete  sa  fete  en  fevrier. 
Fernande  fait  frire  des  feves. 
Voulez-vous  venir  me  voir? 
Voyez  le  veau  et  la  vache. 
Le  voisin  veille  dans  le  village 

de  Velizy. 
Le  voleur  vole  des  voitures  a 

Versailles. 

Ces  six  saucissons-ci  sont  sales. 
Ne  sois  pas  si  sauva^e  en  soiree. 
La  sentinelle  surveille  les  six 

signaux. 

Elle  suce  du  sucre  souvent. 
Cesar  saisit  le  zebre. 
Le  zouave   zele   a   choisi  une 

rose. 
Raser  avec  un  rasoir  est  chost 

aisee. 
La  courtoisie  et.  la  poesie  sons 

de  saison  en  Asie. 
Changez  le  chapeau  de  Charles. 
II  a  chuchote  a  la  chapelle, 
Les  pois  chiches  et  les  choux 

sont  recherches. 
Chantez  sans  facher  le  pacha. 


56 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


3-  — 39  5e 

la  jardinje  a  dy  3eni  pur 

arase  la  sarde. 
la  3oen  30 ik  e  3atij  e  sa3. 

10  35gloer  swaj0  seit  la 
kaij. 

j.  —  lo  pje  da  la  fijet  va  mj0. 
la  vjeij  pe:j  la  bjeir. 
la  ratje  da  la  $armi:j  e  vj0. 

11  vj  et  a  1  atratj  e  avek  so 

Si  e- 

r.  —  il  mil  sez  e:  r  avek  aprate. 
rje  ne  fe  par  done  sa  krim. 

repo    avek    enersi    a   to 

peir. 

ri:r  et  agreabla  la  swair. 
1.  —  1   e:l   da  1  irodeil  Iqit  o 

soleij. 

pati  guly !   leis  la  pla ! 
il  a  avale  de  kilo  d  oliv. 
la  bol  e  rapli  da  perl. 


Je  gene  Eugene. 

Le  jardinier  a  du  genie  pour 

arranger  le  jar  din. 
Le  jeune  Jacques  est  gentil  et 

sage. 
Le  jongleur  joyeux  jette  la  cage. 

Le  pied  de  la  fillet te  va  mieux. 

La  vieille  paye  la  biere. 

Le  rentier  dans  la  charmille  est 

vieux. 
II  vient  a  Fentretien  avec  son 

chien. 

II  roule  ses  r's  avec  aprete. 
Rien    ne    fait    pardonner    ce 

crime. 
Reponds   avec   energie   a  ton 

pere. 

Rire  est  agreable  le  soir. 
L'aile  de  Fhirondelle  luit   au 

soleil. 

Petit  goulu !   laisse  le  plat ! 
II  a  avale  un  kilo  d'olives. 
Le  bol  est  rernpli  de  perles. 


CHAPTER  VI 


PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTION 


la  bon  fam  e  so  bike 

il  j  avet  yn  f wa  yn  vj  e: j 
bon  fam,  yna  §e:vr  e  ce 
Su.     la  §e:vra  s  aple 
bike,  la  vjeij  bon  fam 
n  ave  pa  d  no,  ni  la  $u 
no  ply.     e  bike  s  mit 
a  maise  la  $u  e  el  eme 
ta  sa  ka  sa  patita  te:t 
dispary  bjeto  su  le  grois 
fceij  :   "a  !  ty  sortira, 
biketa,  biketa,  a  !  ty 
sortira  da  sa  $u-la." 
el  avwaja  $er$e  la  $je 
pu:r  vniir  mordra  bike  ; 
me  vwala  ka  la  §je  na  v0 
pa  mordra  bike,  bike  n 
v0  pa  sortir  dy  $u  : 
"a  I  ty  sortira,  biketa, 
biketa,  a  !  ty  sortira,  da 
sa  $u-la." 

el  avwaja  §er§e  la  bat  5 
pu:r  vniir  batra  la  $je,  la 
bato  na  v0  pa  batra  la 
$je,  la  Sje  na  v0  pa 
mordra  bike,  bike  na 


La  bonne  f  emme  et  son  biquet l 

II  y  avait  une  fois  line  vieille 
bonne  femme,  une  chevre  et  un 
chou.  La  chevre  s'appelait 
Biquet,  la  vieille  bonne  femme 
n'avait  pas  de  nom,  ni  le  chou 
non  plus.  Et  Biquet  se  mit 
a  manger  le  chou  et  elle  aimait 
tant  ga  que  sa  petite  tete 
disparut  bientot  sous  les  grosses 
feuilles  :  "Ah!  tu  sortiras, 
Biquette,  Biquette,  ah !  tu 
sortiras  de  ce  chou-la." 
Elle  envoya  chercher  le  chien 
pour  venir  mordre  Biquet  : 
mais  voila  que  le  chien  ne  veut 
pas  mordre  Biquet,  Biquet  ne 
veut  pas  sortir  du  chou  : 
"Ah !  tu  sortiras,  Biquette, 
Biquette,  ah !  tu  sortiras,  de 
ce  chou-la." 

Elle  envoya  chercher  le  baton 
pour  venir  battre  le  chien,  le 
baton  ne  veut  pas  battre  le 
chien,  le  chien  ne  veut  pas 
mordre  Biquet,  Biquet  ne 


1  This  transcription  should  be  read  aloud  by  the  pupil  while  the  right 
hand  column  is  covered  up.  The  English  translation  of  the  French 
words  will  be  found  in  the  Vocabulary. 

57 


58 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH   PHONETICS 


v0  pa  sortir  dy  $u  : 
"a  !  ty  sortira,  biketa, 
biketa,  a  !  ty  sortira  da 
sa  $u-la." 

ei  avwaja  $er$e  dy  f0 
puir  vniir  bryle  1  bato  ; 
la  f0  na  v0  pa  bryle  1 
bato,  la  bato  na  v0  pa 
batra  la  $j  e,  la  $j  e  na 
v0  pa  mordra  bike, 
bike  na  v0  pa  sortir 
dy  $u  :   "a !  ty  sortira, 
biketa,  biketa,  a  !  ty 
sortira  da  sa  §u-la." 
el  avwaja  §er§e  da  1  o 
pu:r  vniir  eteidra  la  f0  ; 
1  o  na  v0  pa  eteidra  la 
£0,  la  f0  na  v0  pa  bryle 
1  bato,  le  bato  na  v0  pa 
batra  la  $j  e,  la  $j  e  na 
v0  pa  mordra  bike, 
bike  na  v0  pa  sortir  dy 
Su  :   "a !  ty  sortira,  bi- 
keta, biketa,  a  !  ty  sor- 
tira da  sa  $u-la." 
el  avwaja  $er$e  dy  sabla 
puir  vniir  bwair  1  o  :  1 
sabla  n  v0  pa  bwair  1  o, 
1  o  na  v0  paz  eteidra  la 
f0,  la  f0  na  v0  pa  bryle 
1  bat5,  la  bato  na  v0  pa 
batra  la  $je,  la  $je  na 
v0  pa  mordra  bike, 
bike  na  v0  pa  sortiir  dy 
§u  :   "a !  ty  sortira,  bi- 
keta, biketa,  a  !  ty  sor- 
tira da  sa  $u-la." 


veut  pas  sortir  du  chou  : 
"Ah!  tu  sortiras,  Biquette, 
Biquette,  ah !  tu  sortiras  de 
ce  chou-la." 

Elle  envoya  chercher  du  feu 
pour  venir  bruler  le  baton  ; 
*le  feu  ne  veut  pas  bruler  le 
baton,  le  baton  ne  veut  pas 
battre  le  chien,  le  chien  no 
veut  pas  mordre  Biquet, 
Biquet  ne  veut  pas  sortir 
du  chou  :  "Ah!  tu  sortiras, 
Biquette,  Biquette,  ah !  tu 
sortiras  de  ce  chou-la." 
Elle  envoya  chercher  de  Feau 
pour  venir  eteindre  le  feu  j 
Teau  ne  veut  pas  eteindre  le 
feu,  le  feu  ne  vtut  pas  bruler 
le  baton,  le  baton  ne  veut  pas 
battre  le  chien,  le  chien  ne 
veut  pas  mordre  Biquet, 
Biquet  ne  veut  pas  sortir  du 
chou:  "Ah!  tu  sortiras,  Bi- 
quette, Biquette,  ah !  tu  sor- 
tiras de  ce  chou-la." 
Elle  envoya  chercher  du  sable 
pour  venir  boire  1'eau  :  le 
sable  ne  veut  pas  boire  Feau, 
1'eau  ne  veut  pas  eteindre  le 
feu,  le  feu  ne  veut  pas  bruler 
le  baton,  le  baton  ne  veut  pas 
battre  le  chien,  le  chien  ne 
veut  pas  mordre  Biquet, 
Biquet  ne  veut  pas  sortir  du 
chou:  "Ah!  tu  sortiras,  Bi- 
quette, Biquette,  ah!  tu  sor- 
tiras de  ce  chou-la." 


PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION 


59 


cer0:zma  k  a  s  mo- 
ma-la  biket  ave  fini  da 
m&3e  la  §u,  si  bje  ka 
s  n  e  pa  biket  ki  e 
sorti  dy  $u,  s  e  la  $u 
ki  et  at  re  da  biket. 
a  !  a  !  s  e  droil,  n  e  s 
pa? 

la  bon  fam  dona  ce 
pti  ku  sek  syir  la  kord, 
puir  ape$e  biketa  da 
gute  a  den  oitr  $u,  e 
tuta  d0  s  an  aleir  ve:r 
loer  mezo. 


Heureusement  qu'a  ce  mo- 
ment-la Biquette  avait  fini  de 
manger  le  chou,  si  bien  que 
ce  n'est  pas  Biquette  qui  est 
sortie  du  chou,  c'est  le  chou 
qui  est  entre  dans  Biquette. 
Ah !  ah !  c'est  drole,  n'est-ce 
pas? 

La  bonne  femme  donna  un 
petit  coup  sec  sur  la  corde, 
pour  empecher  Biquette  de 
gouter  a  un  autre  chou,  et 
toutes  deux  s'en  allerent  vers 
leur  maison. 


istwair  dy  pti  $apro 
ruis 

il  etet  yn  fwa  yna  pa  tit 

fi:j  k  on  aple  lo  pti 

Japro  ru:3,  a  koiz  da 

so  soli  kapy$o,  kulceir  da 

sariiz.     ce  suir  sa  mama  lui 

di  :   "ty  va  t  an  ale  porte 

a  ta  me:r  gra  sa  po  da 

bceir  e  set  galet.     va 

vit  e  na  t  areita  paz  a 

Sine." 

\rsvala  dok  notra  patit  fiij 

ki  trota,  ki  trota,  3yska 

s  k  el  e  le  su  ply 

ruis  ka  so  Japro.     a 

s  moma  la  el  ublja  s 

ka  sa  mama  Iqi  ave  di 


Histoire  du  petit  Chaperon 
Rouge l 

II  etait  une  fois  une  petite 
fille  qu'on  appelait  le  petit 
chaperon  rouge,  a  cause  de 
son  joli  capuchon,  couleur  de 
cerise.  Un  jour  sa  maman  lui 
dit  :  "Tu  vas  t'en  aller  porter 
a  ta  mere-grand  ce  pot  de 
beurre  et  cette  galette.  Va 
vite  et  ne  t'arrete  pas  en 
chemin." 

Voila  done  notre  petite  fille 
qui  trotte,  qui  trotte,  jusqu'a 
ce  qu'elle  ait  les  joues  plus 
rouges  que  son  chaperon.  A 
ce  moment-la  elle  oublia  ce 
que  sa  maman  lui  avait  dit 


lFoT  variety,  and  to  enable  the  pupils  to  hear  correct  intonation,  it 
is  suggested  that  some  stories  be  read  aloud  by  the  teacher,  the 
French  text  of  course  being  covered. 


60 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


e  el  s  asi  pu:r  sa  rapoze. 

"u  va  ty,  ma  patit  fiij?" 

Iqi  damada  ce  gro  lu  ki 

sorte  dy  bwa. 

"§e  ma  me:r  gra,  lui 

porte  sa  po  da  bceir  e 

set  galet." 

"e  u  damceir  t  el,  ta 

meir  gra?" 

11  SL  1  otra  bu  dy  bwa,  e 

el  e  tut  soel,  e  el  e 

bje  vjeij,  e  suva  el 

e  malad,  e  el  m  eim 

boku." 

"e'koma  atrara-ty  $e 

ta  meir  gra,  si  el  et  o 

li,  malad?" 

"o  !  il  n  ja  k  a  tire  la 

bobinet  e  la  $avijet 

$eira." 

tu  sla  s  ete  dy  bavardais 

da:sar0,  kar  la  lu  pri, 

kom  5  di,  se  sdb  a 

so  ku  e  il  ariva  $e  la 

me:r  gra  lota  ava 

la  patit  fiij,  e  il  sy  koma 

f  eir  puir  uvriir  la  port  e  il 

maisa  la  meir  gra.     meim 

il  n  a  fi  k  yn  bu$e,  el 

ete  si  patit  e  si  vjeij  e 

3  espeir  pu:r  el  k  il  la  devora 

tro  vit  pu:r  k  el  y  la 

ta  da  s  an  apersavwa:r. 

e  pui  il  mi  la  bone  da  la 

meir  gra,  tu  se  poivraz 

abi  ;  il  mi  meim  se 

lynet  e  il  sa  ku$a  da 


et  elle  s'assit  pour  se  reposer. 

"Ou  vas-tu,  ma  petite  fille?" 

lui  demanda  un  gros  loup  qui 

sortait  du  bois. 

"Chez     ma     mere-grand,     lui 

porter    ce    pot    de    beurre    et 

cette  galette." 

"Et     ou     demeure-t-elle,     ta 

mere-grand?" 

"A  Fautre  bout   du  bois,  et 

elle  est  toute  seule,  et  elle  est 

bien    vieille,    et    souvent    elle 

est    malade,    et    elle    rn'aime 

beaucoup." 

"Et  comment  entreras-tu  chez 

ta  mere-grand,  si  elle  est  au 

lit,  malade?" 

"Oh!   il   n'y   a   qu'a   tirer   la 

bobinette     et     la     chevillette 

cherra." 

Tout  cela  c'etait  du  bavardage 

dangereux,    car   le    loup    prit, 

comme  on  dit,   ses  jambes  a 

son   cou  et  il  arriva   chez   la 

mere-grand    longtemps    avant 

la  petite  fille,  et  il  sut  comment 

faire  pour  ouvrir  la  porte  et  il 

mangea  la  mere-grand.     Meme 

il  n'en  fit  qu'une  bouchee,  elle 

etait  si  petite  et  si  vieille  et 

j'espere  pour  elle  qu'il  la  devora 

trop  vite  pour  qu'elle  eut  le 

temps  de  s'en  apercevoir. 

Et  puis  il  mit  le  bonnet  de  la 

mere-grand,  tous  ses  pauvres 

habits  ;      il     mit     meme     ses 

lunettes  et  il  se  coucha  dans 


PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION 


61 


so  li.     o  bu  d  yn  oeir 

u  d0  5  frapa  a  la  port. 

"s  e  mwa,  votro  poti 

$apr5  ru:3." 

"30  sijiz  o  li,  malad,  ma 

$eir  afa,  me  tiir  la 

bobinet  e  la  $ovijet 

$eira." 

e  la  potit  fiij  atra. 

"metona  moto  syr  mo 

li,  pu:r  ko  30  t  abras  33 

P0." 

Q  la  potit  fi:j  mota  da 
foil. 

11  o  I  grameir,  dit  el, 

vu  n  e:t  pa  kom 

d  abityd,  kom  vuz  ave 

d  graz  j0." 

"  s  e  puir  mj0  to  vwa:r,  mon 

afa." 

"  grameir,  kom  vuz 

ave  do  gro  bra  !" 

"s  e  pu:r  mj0  t  sere, 

mon  afa." 

'  'grameir,  kom  vuz 

ave  do  gradz  oreij  !'; 

"s  e  puir  mj0  t  ataidra, 

mon  afa." 

"  grameir,  kom  vuz 

ave  do  loig  da  !" 

"s  e  puir  to  kroke,  mon 

afa." 

e  lo  lu  so  3ota  syir  la  potit 

fiij,  mez,  o  meim  esta 

on  atadi  dy  brqi  ;  s  ete 

lo  papa  dy  poti  $apro 

rui3,  ki  arive  3yst  a 


son  lit.     Au  bout  d'une  heure 

ou  deux  on  frappa  a  la  porte. 

"C'est      moi,       votre      petit 

chaperon  rouge." 

"Je   suis   au  lit,   malade,   ma 

chere     enfant,     mais    tire    la 

bobinette     et     la     chevillette 

cherra." 

Et  la  petite  fille  entra. 

"Maintenant  monte  sur  mon 

lit,  pour  que  je  t'embrasse  un 

peu." 

Et  la  petite  fille  monta  dans 

le  lit. 

"Oh!      grand'mere,      dit-elle, 

vous       n'etes      pas       comme 

d'habitude,  comme  vous  avez 

de  grands  yeux." 

"C'est  pour  mieux  te  voir,  mon 

enfant." 

"Grand'mere,     comme     vous 

avez  de  gros  bras!" 

"C'est  pour  mieux  te  serrer, 

mon  enfant." 

"Grand'mere,     comme      vous 

avez  de  grandes  oreilles  ! ' ' 

"C'est  pour  mieux  t'entendre, 

mon  enfant." 

"Grand'mere,     comme     vous 

avez  de  longues  dents  !  " 

"C'est  pour  te  croquer,  mon 

enfant." 

Et  le  loup  se  jeta  sur  la  petite 

fille,    mais,    au   meme   instant 

on  entendit  du  bruit  ;    c'etait 

^    papa    du    petit    chaperon 

rouge,    qui    arrivait    juste    a 


62 


PRACTICAL   FRENCH  PHONETICS 


ta  pu:r  tqe  net  la  me$a 
lu.     39  se  bje  k  il  arive 
tro  tair  puir  la  grameir, 
me  la  grameir  ete  tre 
vje:j  e  il  fo  bje  muriir 
d  yn  faso  u  d  yn  oitr, 
n  e  s  pa? 


temps  pour  tuer  net  le  mechant 
loup.  Je  sals  bien  qu'il  arrivait 
trop  tard  pour  la  grand'mere, 
mais  la  grand'mere  etait  tres. 
vieille  et  il  faut  bien  mourir 
d'une  fagon  ou  d'une  autre, 
n'est-ce  pas  ? 


la  violo 

63  brav  gars5,  nome  30, 
servi  pada  trwaz  ane  63 
fermje  dyir  e  avair.     la 
pramje  lave,  la  dernje  ku$e, 
il  na  rnakle  davat  okym 
bazoji,  n  sa  plejia 
3ame,  tusuir  gijare  e 
k5ta.     a  la  f  e  d  la 
pramjeir  ane,  so  meitra 
n  Iqi  dona  pwe  da  ga:5. 
il  s  dizet  a  Im'meim  : 
U3a  pruv  esi  ka  33  sqiz  63 
male,  f  e  pu:r  komade 
oz  o:tr.     dabo:r,  33  gairda 
mon  arsa  ;  asqit  m5 
vale,  n  eja  pa  la  su,  e 
bje  forse  d  reste  $e  mwa, 
e  33  m  asyir  da  nuvo  sez 
eksela  servis.     3&  et 
63  p0  sepia  d  espri  ;  il 
n  reklamra  pa." 
an  ef  e,  30  n  damada 
rje  ;  e,  a  la  f  e  d  la  sagod 
ane,  il  a  fy  da  meim.     o 
bu  da  trwaz  a,  la  3oen 
om  rezoly  da  s  an  ale. 
lorsk  il  fi  pair  d  set 


Le  violon  magique 

Un  brave  gargon,  nomme  Jean, 
servit  pendant  trois  annees  un 
fermier  dur  et  avare.  Le 
premier  leve,  le  dernier  couche, 
il  ne  renaclait  devant  aucune 
besogne,  ne  se  plaignant 
jamais,  toujours  guilleret  et 
content.  A  la  fin  de  la 
premiere  annee,  son  maitre 
ne  lui  donna  point  de  gages. 
II  se  disait  en  lui-meme  : 
"  Je  prouve  ainsi  que  je  suis  un 
malin,  fait  pour  commander 
aux  autres.  D'abord,  je  garde 
mon  argent  ;  ensuite  mon 
valet,  n'ayant  pas  le  sou,  est 
bien  force  de  rester  chez  moi, 
et  je  m'assure  de  nouveau  ses 
excellents  services.  Jean  est 
un  peu  simple  d'esprit  ;  il 
ne  reclamera  pas." 
En  effet,  Jean  ne  demanda 
rien  ;  et,  a  la  fin  de  la  seconde 
annee,  il  en  fut  de  meme.  Au 
bout  de  trois  ans,  le  jeune 
homme  resolut  de  s'en  aller. 
Lorsqu'il  fit  part  de  cette 


PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION 


63 


rezolysjo  a  so  meitr,  la 

fermje  mi  la  me  a  sa 

po§  ;  mez  il  n  a  tira  ka 

so  mu$wa:r  a  karo,  dot 

il  sa  mu$a  avek  de  brqi  da 

tropet. 

"masj0,  di  3<i,  33  vuz 

e  fidelma  servi  pada 

trwaz  a,  e  33  v0z  ale  vwair 

la  mod  :  eje  la  bote  d 

ma  done  s  ki  ma  ravjet 

a  tuta  systis." 

"wi,  mon  ami,  repodi  la 

fermje,  ty  m  a  bje  servi, 

e  33  ve  t  a  rekopase." 

il  tira  da  sa  burs  trwa  Ijair  : 

"vwasi,  Iqi  dit  il,  trwa  Ijair 

tu  noef .     33  t  a  don  de 

par  ane  ;  sala  f  et  yn 

som,  e  ty  na  rasavra  pa 

partu  d  osi  gro  ga:3." 

kwaka  30.  na  kony  pa 

tre  bje  la  valceir  d  la 

mone,  il  a  savet  ase 

pu:r  sa  dute  k  o  peje 

mal  se  servis.     il  ragarda 

so  meitra  d  yn  sertein 

faso,  kom  den  om  ki 

va  repodra  ;  me  refleksjS 

fet,  il  prefera  na  rje  di:r. 

le  diskysjo  1  anqije. 

"tot  u  ta:r,  pasa  t  il,  sa 

kot  sara  regie."     il  pri 

le  trwa  Ijair  e  s  an  ala  a 

S&ta. 

sy:r  la  Same,  pre  d  de 

bqiso,  35  vit  de  vj0 


resolution  a  son  maitre,  le 
fermier  mit  la  main  a  sa 
poche  ;  mais  il  n'en  tira  que 
son  mouchoir  a  carreaux,  dont 
il  se  moucha  avec  un  bruit  de 
trompette. 

"  Monsieur,  dit  Jean,  je  vous 
ai  fidelement  servi  pendant 
trois  ans,  et  je  veux  aller  voir 
le  monde  :  ayez  la  bonte  de 
me  donner  ce  qui  me  revient 
en  toute  justice." 
"Oui,  mon  ami,  repondit  le 
fermier,  tu  m'as  bien  servi, 
et  je  vais  t'en  recompenser." 
II  tira  de  sa  bourse  trois  liards  : 
"Voici,  lui  dit-il,  trois  liards 
tout  neufs.  Je  t'en  donne  un 
par  annee  ;  cela  fait  une 
somme,  et  tu  ne  recevras  pas 
partout  d'aussi  gros  gages." 
Quoique  Jean  ne  connut  pas 
tres  bien  la  valeur  de  la 
monnaie,  il  en  savait  assez 
pour  se  douter  qu'on  pay  ait 
mal  ses  services.  II  regarda 
son  maitre  d'une  certaine 
fagon,  comme  un  homme  qui 
va  re"pondre  ;  mais  reflexion 
faite,  il  prefera  ne  rien  dire. 
Les  discussions  Fennuyaient. 
"Tot  ou  tard,  pensa-t-il,  ce 
compte  sera  regie."  II  prit 
les  trois  liards  et  s'en  alia  en 
chantant. 

Sur  le  chemin,  pres  d'un 
buisson,  Jean  vit  un  vieux 


64 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


patit  om,  d  aspe  mizer- 

abla. 

"a  !  di  la  ne,  il  pare  ka 

le  susi  n  ta  sein  pa, 

twa !" 

"purkwa  sore  39  trist? 

3  e  la,  sona  da  ma 

po$,  me  gaisa  da  trwaz  a.7' 

"e  to  trezoir  sa  mo:t  a 

kobje?" 

"a  trwa  Ijair  ;  paz  ce  da 

mwe." 

"ekut,  rapri  la  pati  vj0  : 

33  sqi  da  la  mizeir  e  3a  n 

p0  ply  travaje.     twa,  ty 

e  seen  :  ty  gajiara  f  asila- 

ma  to  pe.     v0  ty  ma 

done  te  trwa  Ijair?" 

30  ave  bo  koeir. 

"ma  fwa,  dit  il  avek  gete, 

a  trwaz  a  30  gaijiare  p0teitr 

ota  !     tj  e,  pra  le  ;  33 

sore  bje  ma  pase." 

la  ne  rapri  : 

"pm'ska  ty  e  si  §aritabla, 

forma  trwa  swe  :  oe  puir 

$aka  Ijair  Ka  ty  m  a  done. 

il  sarot  akopli." 

30  s  mit  a  riir. 

<(kom  da  le  kota  da 

fe,  alor?     e  bje,  3  ta 

praz  o  mo.     sa  v0 

daboir  yn  sarbakan  ki 

na  maka  same  so  by  ; 

asqit  ce  violo  ki  f  ors  a 

dase  tu  s0  ki  1  ata- 

dro.     kat  a  mo  trwazjeim 


petit  homme,  d' aspect  mise- 
rable. 

"  Ah !  dit  le  nain,  il  parait  que 
les  soucis  ne  te  genent  pas, 
toil" 

"Pourquoi  serais-je  triste? 
J'ai  la,  sonnant  dans  ma 
poche,  mes  gages  de  trois  ans." 
"Et  ton  tresor  se  monte  a 
combien?" 

UA  trois  liards  ;  pas  un  de 
moins." 

^Ecoute,  reprit  le  petit  vieux  : 
je  suis  dans  la  misere  et  je  ne 
peux  plus  travailler.     Toi,  tu 
es  jeune :    tu  gagneras  facile- 
ment  ton  pain.     Veux-tu  me 
donner  tes  trois  liards?" 
Jean  avait  bon  cceur. 
"Ma  foi,  dit-il  avec  gaite,  en 
trois  ans  j'en  gagnerai  peut-etre 
autant !     Tiens,  prends-les  ;  je 
saurai  bien  m'en  passer." 
Le  nain  reprit  : 
"Puisque  tu  es  si  charitable, 
forme  trois  souhaits  :   un  pour 
chaque  Hard  que  tu  m'as  donne. 
Us  seront  accomplis." 
Jean  se  mit  a  rire. 
"Comme   dans   les   contes   de 
fees,    alors?     Eh    bien,    je    te 
prends     au     mot.       Je     veux 
d'abord    une     sarbacane     qui 
ne  manque  jamais   son  but  ; 
ensuite  un  violon  qui  force- a 
danser  tous  ceux  qui  Fenten- 
dront.     Quant  a  mon  troisieme 


PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTION 


65 


swe  —  ma  fwa,  30  n  se 

ply  kwa  to  dmade.     $wazi 

puir  mwa." 

"ty  e  bje  modere  da  te 

v0,  di  lo  ne.     ty  or  a 

la  sarbakan  e  la  violo.     da 

ply,  persomo  no  pura  to 

rofyze  la  promjeir  $oz  ko 

ty  dmadora.     sola  to  sara 

ytil  ava  p0." 

ejat  esi  parle,  lo  poti 

vj0  tira  de  brusaij  yno 

lo:g  sarbakan  e  de  30!! 

pti  violo  do  po$,  k  il 

romit  a  30. 

"ko  mfot  ilda  ply?"  di 

lo  3cen  om.     il  romersja 

lo  ne  e  parti,  mwatje 

kura,  mwatje  dctea. 

3<i  tra versa  bj  etot  de  kar- 

fu:r  opre  dykel  il  j  avet 

de  pti  bwa,  e  il  apersy, 

ata$e  a  den  arbro,  lo  $val 

dy  f  ermje,  avek  la  karjol 

vid.     a  me:m  ta,  notro 

vwaja3oe:r  atadi  la  vwa  do 

son  asje  me:tr  s  ekrje  : 

"ko  n  donore  50  pa  puir 

avwa:r  so  meirl  ki  sifla  si 

bje!" 

eja  f  e  kelko  pa  da 

10  bwa,  3d  apersy  lo  f  ermje. 

11  e  kwa  !  meitro,  Iqi  dit  il, 
eit  vu  si  frija  do  $a- 

so?     50  n  vu  save  pa 

myzisje." 

—  a  !  s  e  twa?  fi  1  o:tr  a 


souhait  —  ma  foi,  je  ne  sais 
plus  quoi  te  demandcr.  Choisis 
pour  moi." 

uTu  es  bien  modere  dans  tes 
voaux,  dit  le  nain.  Tu  auras 
la  sarbacane  et  le  violon.  De 
plus,  personne  ne  pourra  te 
refuser  la  premiere  chose  que 
tu  demanderas.  Cela  te  sera 
utile  avant  peu." 
Ayant  ainsi  parle,  le  petit 
vieux  tira  des  broussailles  une 
longue  sarbacane  et  un  joli 
petit  violon  de  poche,  qu'il 
remit  a  Jean. 

"Que  me  faut-il  de  plus?"  dit 
le  jeune  homme.  II  remercia 
le  nain  et  partit,  moi'ti6 
courant,  moitie  dansant. 
Jean  traversa  bientot  un  carre- 
four  aupres  duquel  il  y  avait 
un  petit  bois,  et  il  apergut, 
attache  a  un  arbre,  le  cheval 
du  fermier,  avec  la  carriole 
vide.  En  meme  temps,  notre 
voyageur  entendit  la  voix  de 
son  ancien  maitre  s'ecrier  : 
"Que  ne  donnerais-je  pas  pour 
avoir  ce  merle  qui  siffle  si 
bien!" 

Ayant  fait  quelques  pas  dans 
le  bois,  Jean  apercut  le  fermier. 
"Eh  quoi!  maitre,  lui  dit-il, 
etes-vous  si  friand  de  chan- 
sons? Je  ne  vous  savais  pas 
musicien." 
—  Ah  !  c'est  toi?  fit  Fautre  en 


66 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


sa  raturna.     39  ma  su- 
siore  p0  da  sa  meirl,  si  30 
n  pase  k  a  la  fwair  pro- 
Jem  5  puret  a  tire  de 
bo  pri.     me  ki  sa  $ar- 
3ore  d  ale  hji  meitr  de 
gre  da  sel  syr  la  k0? 
—  39  n  e  pa  da  sel  da  ma 
po§,  rapri  35  ;  mez  avek 
ma  sarbakan  33  p0z  eturdiir 
1  wazale ." 

ejat  esi  parle,  il  viza  la 
merl  a  1  e:l  go:§  ;  la 
3a*ij  bestjol,  ateita  syst 
a  set  adrwa,  toba  eturdi 
doz  de  fure  d  epin  e  da 
ros. 

"ale,  meitr,  di  30  ;   ale 
ramase  votr  wazo  !" 
1  avair  sa  mit  a  katra  pat 
e,  kom  il  py,  sa  freja  de 
pasa:3  a  traveir  lez  epin 
puir  atedra  la  merl  k  il 
atravwaje  ;   mez  aloir, 
sezisa  so  violo  masik, 
3&  sa  mit  a  a  swe,  e  la 
fermje  sa  dresa  bryskama 
sy:r  se  3<ib.     Sulave  par 
yn  fors  mervej0:z,  il  sota, 
il  bodit  o  milj0  de  r5s, 
ki  la  de$ire  da  tut 
pair. 

"areit !  areit !  kriet-il. 
f  e  te:r  set  myzik  dy 
djabl !     e  s  isi  den  adrwa 
pu:r  dase?     areit,  se- 
lera  !"     30  kotinqet  a 


se  retournant.  Je  me  sou- 
cierais  peu  de  ce  merle,  si  je 
ne  pensais  qu'a  la  foire  pro 
chaine  on  pourrait  en  tirer  un 
bon  prix.  Mais  qui  se  char- 
gerait  d'aller  lui  mettre  un 
grain  de  sel  sur  la  queue? 
—  Je  n'ai  pas  de  sel  dans  ma 
poche,  reprit  Jean  ;  mais  avec 
ma  sarbacane  je  peux  etourdir 
Poiselet." 

Ay  ant  ainsi  parle,  il  visa  le 
merle  a  Taile  gauche  ;  la 
gentille  bestiole,  atteinte  juste 
a  cet  endroit,  tomba  etourdie 
dans  un  fourre  d'epines  et  de 
ronces. 

"Allez,  maitre,  dit  Jean  ;  allez 
ramasser  votre  oiseau !" 
L'avare  se  mit  a  quatre  pattes 
et,  comme  il  put,  se  fraya  un 
passage  a  travers  les  epines 
pour  atteindre  le  merle  qu'il 
entrevoyait  ;  mais  alors, 
saisissant  son  violon  magique, 
Jean  se  mit  a  en  jouer,  et  le 
fermier  se  dressa  brusquement 
sur  ses  jambes.  Souleve  par 
une  force  merveilleuse,  il  sauta, 
il  bondit  au  milieu  des  ronces, 
qui  le  dechiraient  de  toutes 
parts. 

"Arrete!  arrete !  criait-il. 
Fais  taire  cette  musique  du 
diable !  Est-ce  ici  un  endroit 
pour  danser?  Arrete,  sce- 
lerat ! ' '  Jean  continuait  a 


PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTION 


67 


3\ve  da  sa  po$e:t  kom 
s  il  n  y  fet  oitra  $o:z 
tut  sa  vi  ;  e,  plyz  il  i 
mete  d  atre,  ply  1  avair 
sotet  e  bodise,  si  bje 
ka  lez  epin  lui  egratijie 
1  viza:3  e  lin'  ara$e  se 
veitama  par  labo. 
"ty  a  s«yfizamat  ekor$e 
la  poivra  mod,  pase  notra 
3waj0  menetrje  ;  ka  lez 
epin  ta  la  rad  !" 
sot  a  da  plyz  a  ply  o, 
la  fermje  11  a  puve  ply. 
"areit !  krijet  il.     33  ta 
donare  tu  s  ka  ty 
vudra  !     yn  bu:rs  plein 
d  or  !     yn  bu:rs  ka  3  e 
syir  mwa ! 

—  pqiska  vuz  eit  si  3ene- 
r0,  meitr,  33  na  finire  pa  ma 
gavot,  di  1  oitr  a  sesa 
da  3we.     me  rasave  me 
koplima  :  33  n  e  same 
vy  de  dasoeir  osi  lest." 
a  diza  se  mo,  il  pri  la 
buirs  ka  lo  fermje  1m' 
tade  ;  pqiz  il  pursulvi 
geima  so  Same.     1  avair 
n  y  rje  da  ply  prese  ka 
d  ale  la  denose  a  la  systis, 
a  1  akyza  da  Iqi  avwair  vole 
sa  buirs  apre  1  avwair  desire 
avek  sez  ogl. 
la  seen  om  f y  bj  etot 
arete,  3y3e  e  kodane  a 
e:tra  pady. 


jouer  de  sa  pochette  comme 
s'il  n'eut  fait  autre  chose 
toute  sa  vie  ;  et,  plus  il  y 
mettait  d'entrain;,  plus  Favare 
sautait  et  bondissait,  si  bien 
que  les  epines  lui  egratignaient 
le  visage  et  lui  arrachaient  ses 
vetements  par  lambeaux. 
"Tu  as  suffisamment  ecorche 
le  pauvre  monde,  pensait  notre 
joyeux  mene trier  ;  que  les 
epines  te  le  rendent !" 
Sautant  de  plus  en  plus  haut, 
le  fermier  n'en  pouvait  plus. 
"Arrete!  criait-il.  Je  te 
donnerai  tout  ce  que  tu 
voudras !  Une  bourse  pleine 
d'or !  Une  bourse  que  j'ai 
sur  moi ! 

—  Puisque  vous  etes  si  gene- 
reux,  maitre,  je  ne  finirai  pas  ma 
gavotte,  dit  Pautre  en  cessant 
de  jouer.  Mais  recevez  mes 
compliments  :  je  n'ai  jamais 
vu  un  danseur  aussi  leste." 
En  disant  ces  mots,  il  prit  la 
bourse  que  le  fermier  lui 
tendait  ;  puis  il  poursuivit 
gaiment  son  chemin.  L'avare 
n'eut  rien  de  plus  presse  que 
d'aller  le  denoncer  a  la  justice, 
en  Faccusant  de  lui  avoir  vole 
sa  bourse  apres  1'avoir  dechire 
avec  ses  ongles. 

Le  jeune  homme  fut  bientot 
arrete,  juge  et  condamne  a 
etre  pendu. 


68 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


o  moma  u  5  la  koduizet 
a  la  potas,  la  fermje,  ki 
etet  o  pramje  ra  da  la 
fuil,  Iqi  krija  d  yn  vwa 
fyrj0:z  : 

"myzisje  da  maloeir  !  ty 
vaz  e:tr  peje  sal  5  te  me- 
rit." 

30  mota  trakilama  Ic 
dagre  da  1  e$eil  adose  a 
la  potas  ;  mez,  o  dernjer 
e$alo,  il  sa  raturna  ve:r  la 

3Y3  : 

"akorde  mwa,  dit  il,  yna 
prieir  ava  ka  33  moe:r. 
-lakeil? 

—  53  vudre  swe  akoir  ce 
patit  e:r  sy:r  mo  violo." 
osito  la  fermje  s  ekrija  : 
"na  la  perm  ete  pa,  masj0 
la  3ys  !     na  la  perm  ete  pa  ! 

—  puirkwa,  di  la  sys,  na  Iqi 
akordare  3  pa  set  der- 
njeir  3\va?  " 

3a  n  sqi  pa  sy:r  ka  la 
masistra  yt  ete  osi  ko- 
patisa,  s  il  ave  parle  sqi- 
va  so  koeir  ;  me  30 
ave  rasy  pu:r  trwazjeim  do 
ka  sa  pramjeir  damad  Iqi 
saret  akorde,  e,  sa  la 
savwair,  la  3y3  obeiset  a  oe 
puvwair  ply  for  ka  la  sje. 
o  radit  a  3a  so  violo 
(kar  o  1  ave  depuije  da 
tu  s  k  il  posede),  e  il 
s  mit  a  postyir  da  swe. 


Au  moment  ou  on  le  conduisait 
a  la  potence,  le  fermier,  qui 
6tait  au  premier  rang  de  la 
foule,  lui  cria  d'une  voix 
furieuse  : 

"Musicien  de  malheur !  tu 
vas  etre  paye  selon  tes  me- 
rites." 

Jean  monta  tranquillement  les 
degres  de  1'echelle  adossee  a 
la  potence  ;  mais,  au  dernier 
echelon,  il  se  retourna  vers  le 
juge  : 

"  Accordez-moi,      dit-il,      une 
priere  avant  que'  je  meure. 
—  Laquelle  ? 

—  Je  voudrais  jouer  encore  un 
petit  air  sur  mon  violon." 
Aussitot  le  fermier  s'ecria  : 

"  Ne  le  permettez  pas,  monsieur 
le  juge  !  Ne  le  permettez  pas  ! 

—  Pourquoi,  dit  le  juge,  ne  lui 
accorderais-je    pas    cette    der- 
niere  joie?" 

Je  ne  suis  pas  sur  que  le 
magistrat  eut  ete  aussi  com- 
patissant,  s'il  avait  parle  sui- 
vant  son  cosur  ;  mais  Jean 
avait  regu  pour  troisieme  don 
que  sa  premiere  demande  lui 
serait  accordee,  et,  sans  le 
savoir,  le  juge  obeissait  a  un 
pouvoir  plus  fort  que  le  sien. 
On  rendit  a  Jean  son  violon 
(car  on  Tavait  depouille  de 
tout  ce  qu'il  posse*dait),  et  il 
se  mit  en  posture  de  jouer. 


PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION 


69 


"ata$e  mwa  !  krija  la  fer- 

mje  :   ata$e  mwa  !     den  eky 

a  ki  m  atajara  solidma  ! " 

me  3&  ave  done  la 

pramje  ku  d  ar$e  :  3Y3, 

grefje,  buro,  poepl,  tu 

sa  mit  a  ramije  ;  la  korda 

toba  de  me  da  salin  ki 

vulet  ata$e  la  fermje 

puir  den  eky.     o  sago  ku, 

tus  laveir  la  3&:b;  e  la 

buro,  lesa  la  so  pa- 

sja,  desadi  1  e§e:l  katr 

a  katr  puir  dase  avek 

lez  o:tr.     o  trwazjeim  ku 

d  ar$e,  tus  s  mi:rt  a 

sote,  a  bodi:r,  la  3713  e  la 

fermje  a  test,  sota  ply 

o  ka  tu  la  mod. 

^cenz  e  vj0,  graz  e 

meigr,  tus  atret  a  ~ 

das  ;  le  $jez  0me:m, 

sa  dresa  sy:r  Iceir  pat  da 

derjeir,  bodise  sy:r  plas. 

le  te:t  s  atr$oke,  o 

s  ekraze  le  pje,  tu  la 

mod  yirle  da  duloeir. 

af  e  la  373  s  ekrija  d  yna  vwa 

altat  : 

*'ase !  .  .  .  as,e  !  .  .  .  30  . 

.  .  .  3a  .      .  t  akorda  ta 

grn:s  .  .   .     fini  ta  myzik  ! ' ' 

aloir,  3&  sesa  da  3we, 

desadi  da  1  e^eil  e  sa  fi 

radra  la  sarbakana  e  la 

buirs.     il  koveki  da 

muso3  la  fermje  avair,  ki 


f'Attachez-moi !  cria  le  fer- 
mier  ;  attachez-moi !  Un  ecu 
a  qui  m'attachera  solidement ! " 
Mais  Jean  avait  donne  le 
premier  coup  d'archet  :  juge, 
greffier,  bourreau,  peuple,  tout 
se  mit  a  remuer  ;  la  corde 
tomba  des  mains  de  celui  qui 
voulait  attacher  le  fermier 
pour  un  ecu.  Au  second  coup, 
tous  leverent  la  jambe  ;  et  le 
bourreau,  laissant  la  son  pa- 
tient, descendit  1'echelle  quatre 
a  quatre  pour  danser  avec 
les  autres.  Au  troisieme  coup 
d'archet,  tous  se  mirent  a 
sauter,  a  bondir,  le  juge  et  le 
fermier  en  tete,  sautant  plus 
haut  que  tout  le  monde. 
Jeunes  et  vieux,  gras  et 
maigres,  tous  entraient  en 
danse  ;  les  chiens  eux-memes, 
se  dressant  sur  leurs  pattes  de 
derriere,  bondissaient  sur  place. 
Lestetes  s'entre-choquaient,  on 
s'ecrasait  les  pieds,  tout  le 
monde  hurl  lit  de  douleur. 
Erifin  le  juge  s'ecria  d'une  voix 
naletante  : 

'  Assez  !  .  .  .  Assez  !  .  .  .  Je 
...  je  .  .  ,  t'accorde  ta 
grace  .  .  Finis  ta  musique  !" 
Alors,  Jean  cessa  de  jouer, 
descendit  de  Techelle  et  se  fit 
rendre  la  sarbacane  et  la 
bourse.  II  convainquit  de 
mensonge  le  fermier  avare,  qui 


70 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


fy  sate  a  prizo  puir  1  avwair 
fosmat  akyze.     pin'z  il  sa 
ramit  a  rut  avek  la  violo 
e  la  sarbakan,  dot  il  sa 
servit  akoir  a  met 
okazjo. 


fut  jete  en  prison  pour  1'avoir 
faussement  accuse.  Puis  il  se 
remit  en  route  avec  le  violon 
et  la  sarbacane,  dont  il  se 
servit  encore  en  mainte 
occasion. 

—  Conte  traditionnel,  transcrit 
par  MAURICE  BOUCHOR. 


le  brav  30 

kom  le  veir  a  swa  n  ave 
pa  reysi,  la  bon  madam 
peroil  S9  truve  par  azar 
d  ase  me$a:t  ymceir  ;  e 
masj0  peroil,  rezijie,  la 
lese  puse  sez  "ave  ma- 
ria"  sa  trop  oze  rje  diir. 

—  di  livre  da  koko  !  su- 
pire  madam  pero:l,  pa 
meim  la  pri  d  la  grein  ; 
a$te-vu  dok  ce  $a:l 
avek  sa. 

—  ka  v0  ty  ?     abrwazin, 
ty  ta  1  a$etra  1  ane  pro- 
$em.     duz  mwa  so  vit 
pase. 

—  1  ane  protein,  ki  1  a 
vy?     yn  $oiz  a  tu  ka 
sertem,  s  e  ka  30  n  ore 
paz  akoir  la  $a:l  set 
ane  si.    33  p0  $ate  : 
mo  koeir  supiir  !    3  ave 
purta  bje  kote  sy:r  sa 
Jail,     e,  madam  peroil 

s  eta  ty,  masj0  peroil,  ki 
kryt  a  yn  akalmi,  prit  a 


Les  braves  gens 

Comme  les  vers  a  soie  n'avaient 
pas  reussi,  la  bonne  Madame 
Peyrolles  se  trouvait  par  hasard 
d'assez  mechante  humeur  ;  et 
Monsieur  Peyrolles,  resigne,  la 
laissait  pousser  ses  "Ave  Ma- 
ria" sans  trop  oser  rien  dire. 

—  Dix  livres  de  cocons !  sou- 
pirait  Madame  Peyrolles,  pas 
meme   le   prix   de   la   graine ; 
achetez-vous    done    un    chale 
avec  ca. 

—  Que  veux-tu  ?     Ambroisine, 
tu  te  Tacheteras  Fannee  pro- 
chaine.     Douze  mois  sont  vite 
passes. 

—  L'anne*e  prochaine,   qui  Fa 
vue?     Une  chose  en  tout  cas 
certaine,   c'est  que  je  n'aurai 
pas     encore     le     chale     cette 
annee-ci.     Je    peux    chanter  : 
Mon    cceur    soupire !     J'avais 
pourtant  bien  compte  sur  ce 
chale.     Et,  Madame  Peyrolles 
s'6tant  tue,  M.  Peyrolles,  qui 
crut   a   une   accalmie,    prit   a 


PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION 


71 


ce  klu  so  sekatceir  avek 
1  ide  d  ale  f  eir  oe  tu:r  o 
Sarde.     madam  peroil 
1  are:ta  : 

—  le:s  dok  lez  arbra  tra- 
kil,  ty  ora  dame  la 

t<i  da  lez  eborjie  !     oitr 
fwa,  so.  k  5  s  a  mela, 
tu  lez  d  la  vjeij  espalje 
part e.     me  dopqi  ka  la 
grci  sava  da  pari  e 
pase  par  kataperdri  e 
k  il  vuz  a  fet  o  serkla 
set  fam0z  koferas,  da- 
pi{i  k  il  a  faly  s  abone 
a  la  ravy  d  arborikyltyir, 
tusuir  da  tez  istwair  e 
te  metod,  te  buir,  te 
gref,  te  bursoz  a  bwa, 
te  bursoz  a  friji,  ty  kup, 
ty  roji,  ty  taij  ...  e  33 
na  se  ply  la  gu  k  5  le 
pwair ! 

frwase  par  set  filipik, 
dot  il  na  puvet  a  pair  swa 
koteste  la  systes,  masj0 
pero:l  kita  la  sekatoeir, 
tadi  ka  madam  peroil 
ravanet  o  sy3e  da  se  do- 
lea  is. 

—  ta  da  pem  !     e  pur- 
kwa?     puir  rje.     vwala 
purta  d0  mwa  ka  nu 
nuz  eksterminjo,  syir  pje 
da  nqi  kom  da  3u:r,  avek 
skolastik  a  ki  3  ave 
promi  da  done  mo  vj0 


un  clou  son  secateur  avec 
1'idee  d'aller  faire  un  tour  au 
jar  din.  Madame  Peyrolles 
Farreta  : 

—  Laisse  done  les  arbres  tran- 
quilles,  tu  auras  demain  le 
temps  de  les  eborgner  !  Autre- 
fois,  sans  qu'on  s'en  melat, 
tous  les  ans  le  vieil  espalier 
port  ait.  Mais  depuis  que  le 
grand  savant  de  Paris  est 
passe  par  Canteperdrix  et 
qu'il  vous  a  fait  au  Cercle 
cette  fameuse  conference,  de- 
puis qu'il  a  fallu  s'abonner 
a  la  Revue  d' arboriculture, 
toujours  dans  tes  histoires  et 
tes  methodes,  tes  bourres,  tes 
greffes,  tes  bourgeons  a  bois, 
tes  bourgons  a  fruit,  tu  coupes, 
tu  rognes,  tu  tailles  .  .  .  et  je 
ne  sais  plus  le  gout  qu'ont  les 
poires ! 

Froisse  par  cette  philippique, 
dont  il  ne  pouvait  a  part  soi 
contester  la  justesse,  Monsieur 
Peyrolles  quitta  le  secateur, 
tandis  que  Madame  Peyrolles 
revenait  au  sujet  de  ses  do- 
leances. 
—  Tant  de  peine  !  Et  pour- 


quoi  i 


Pour    rien. 


Voila 


pourtant  deux  mois  que  nous 
nous  exterminions,  sur  pied 
de  nuit  comme  de  jour,  avec 
Scholastique  a  qui  j'avais 
promis  de  donner  mon  vieux 


72 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


Sail  lorska  3  ore  mo 
Sail  ncef  e  ki,  1  iveir 
pro$e,  puir  la  mes  da 
set  ce:r,  davra  sa  ko- 
tate  da  sa  palis  d  edj  en 
.  .  .     daboir,  pramjer  agre- 
mai  le  veir  a  swa  s  eta 
tro  prese  d  ekloir,  an  avas 
d  yn  smein,  saz  atadra 
ka  la  ve:r  y  puse  o 
myrje,  il  nuz  a  faly  $ak 
mate,  pu:r  loeir  nurityir, 
ramase  de  foeij  da  ros, 
la  lo  de  fose,  kom  d0 
boemjen.     3  an  e  akoir 
le  dwa  pikote  ...     e 
apre  loeir  sag5  someij, 
ka  tut  a  ku  il  so 
davany  trist,  ki  et  ale, 
o  riska  d  sa  presipite, 
koejiir  da  le  ro$e  dy 
foir  la  lavad  e  la  marsolein 
neseseir  o  fymigasjo? 
...     e  ta  d  oitra  traka 
akoir  !  .  .  .     af  e  tu  mar- 
5e  bje.     alijie  sy:r  lez 
etaseir,  me  sekat  ka- 
banet  a  bel  brin'jeir  da 
ly:r,  n  atade  ply  ka 
le  koko.     me  veir  a  swa 
a$ave  da  dormiir  de  trwa  : 
ru  kom  1  o:r  gofle,  tras- 
para  e  sqa  la  swa.     desa 
il  grepe  la  lo  de 
brediij  ;  le  ply  brav 
file  desa,  akro$a  loeir 
fil  a  drwat,  a  go:§,  kat 


chale  lorsque  j'aurais  mon 
chale  neuf  et  qui,  1'hiver 
prochain,  pour  la  messe  de 
sept  heures,  devra  se  con- 
tenter  de  sa  pelisse  d'indienne 
.  .  .  D'abord,  premier  agre- 
ment  :  les  vers  a  soie  s'etant 
trop  presses  d'eclore,  en  avance 
d'une  semaine,  sa.ns  attendre 
que  le  vert  eut  pousse  aux 
muriers,  il  nous  a  fallu  chaque 
matin,  pour  leur  nourriture, 
ramasser  des  feuilles  de  ronces, 
le  long  des  fosses,  comme  deux 
bohemiennes.  J'en  ai  encore 
les  doigts  picotes  ...  Et 
apres  leur  second  sommeil, 
quand  tout  a  coup  ils  sont 
devenus  tristes,  qui  est  allee, 
au  risque  de  se  precipiter, 
cueillir  dans  les  rochers  du 
fort  la  lavande  et  la  marjolaine 
necessaire  aux  fumigations  ? 
...  Et  tant  d'autres  tracas 
encore  !  .  .  .  Enfin  tout  mar- 
chait  bien.  Alignees  sur  les 
etageres,  mes  cinquante  ca- 
banettes  en  belle  bruyere  de 
Lure,  n'attendaient  plus  que 
les  cocons.  Mes  vers  a  soie 
achev.aient  de  dormir  des  trois  : 
roux  comme  Tor,  gonfles,  trans- 
parents  et  suant  la  soie.  Deja 
ils  grimpaient  le  long  des 
brindilles  ;  les  plus  braves 
filaient  deja,  accrochant  leur 
fil  a  droite,  a  gauche,  quand 


PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION 


73 


6  syrvony  set  ora:5.     aL>:r, 

0  promje  ku  do  toneir, 
3  e  vy  le  poivro  be:t 
rodesadr  e  voniir  muriir 
syir  loeir  litjeir  .  .  .     de 
dezastr !     skolastik  pice- 
re,  3  avez  avi  d  a  f eir 
ota. 

mosj0  peroil,  emy,  pin'za 
pu:r  so  done  kurai3  yno 
dublo  priz  da  sa  tabatje:r 
an  ekaij  ki  gresa,  e  pada 
kelko  sogod,  silasj0z- 
ma,  madam  peroil,  e 
Iqi  s  dtrorogardeir.     mo- 
sj0  e  madam  peroil, 
u  —  kom  o  lez  aple 
ply  komynema  da  lo 
pe:j,  a  manjeir  d  afekty0;s 
familjarite  —  mosj0  vik- 
tris  e  madam  abrwazin 
etc,  da  tut  la  forso 
dy  te:rm,  de  person  do 

1  asje  ta.     bje  porta 
kwako  trez  036  (loeir  maria:3 
s  ete  f et  alo:r  ko  $arl 

dis  rejiet  akoir)  il  vive 
do  potit  rat,  do  se  tut 
pot  it  rat  ki  oitrofwa 
syfizet  a  kostitye  la  for- 
tyin.     po:vroz  o  fo,  il 
no  s  an  apersove  pa,  eja 
vjcji  sa  so  kree  okde  de 
bozwe  d  la  sosjete  nuveil. 
e  ilz  etet  oer0,  a  la 
manjeir  d  il  j  a  sekat 
a,  da  loeir  mezonet  do 


est  survenu  cet  orage.  Alors, 
au  premier  coup  de  tonnerre, 
j'ai  vu  les  pauvres  betes 
redescendre  et  venir  mourir 
sur  leur  litiere  .  .  .  Un 
desastre !  Scholastique  pleu- 
rait,  j'avais  envie  d?en  faire 
autant. 

Monsieur  Peyrolles,  emu,  puisa 
pour  se  donner  courage  une 
double  prise  dans  sa  tabatiere 
en  ecaille  qui  gringa,  et  pendant 
quelques  secondes,  silencieuse- 
ment,  Madame  Peyrolles,  et 
lui  s'entreregarderent.  Mon- 
sieur et  Madame  Peyrolles, 
ou  —  comme  on  les  appelait 
plus  communement  dans  le 
pays,  en  maniere  d'affectueuse 
familiarit^  —  Monsieur  Vic- 
trice  et  Madame  Ambroisine 
etaient,  dans  toute  la  force 
du  terme,  des  personnes  de 
Pancien  temps.  Bien  portants 
quoique  tres  ages  (leur  mariage 
s'etait  fait  alors  que  Charles 
dix  regnait  encore)  ils  vivaient 
de  petites  rentes,  de  ces  toutes 
petites  rentes  qui  autrefois 
suffisaient  a  constituer  la  for- 
tune. Pauvres  au  fond,  ils 
ne  s'en  apercevaient  pas,  ayant 
vieilli  sans  se  creer  aucun  des 
besoins  de  la  societe  nouvelle. 
Et  ils  etaient  heureux,  a  la 
maniere  d'il  y  a  cinquante 
ans,  dans  leur  maisonette  de 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


la  gra  plas,  u  le  moebla 
fane  p0  a  p0,  le  glas 
latamo.  terni  garde 
pu:r  0,  gras  o  suvoniir, 
yna  me:m  e  imiqabla  fre- 
$ce:r.     soelma,  a  $ak 
ratuir  d  avril,  madam 
abrwazin,  daz  ce  o 
gronje  bla§i  a  la  §o 
e  trasforme  a  majianari, 
fazet  yn  5s  u  d0  do 
veir  a  swa  ;  e,  ka  la 
reysit  ete  bon,  sla  loeir 
per  met  e  da  s  ofriir  kelko 
dusceir.     1  elavais  de  veir 
a  swa  n  e  pa  kosidere  a 
kataperdri  kom  travaij 
artiza,  e  la  burswazi 
atarde  e  apovri  da  sa 
kwe  da  proves  eim  a  sa 
kree  esi,  sa  krwair  derose, 
oe  modesta  syplema  da 
ravany. 

mez,  elas !  le  ve:r  a  swa  da 
madam  abrwazin  n  ave 
pa  reysi  set  ane.     su- 
de,  la  bon  figyir  pre- 
okype  da  masj0  viktris 
s  eklera. 

—  som  mi  be:t?  e  sa 
n  i  pase  soelma  ply  ! 
me  33  p0  ta  1  a$te,  to 
$a:l  .  .  .     notra  rat  dy 
3as  da  bram-f  e,  nu  n 
1  avo  same  tu§e  dapqi 
1  eritais  dy  povr  okl. 
vwala  d0z  ane  d  sla  :  a 


la  Grand 'Place,  ou  les  meubles 
fanes  peu  a  peu,  les  glaces 
lentement  ternies  gardaient 
pour  eux,  grace  au  souvenir, 
une  meme  et  immuable  frai- 
cheur.  Seulement,  a  chaque 
retour  d'avril,  Madame 
Ambroisine,  dans  un  haut 
grenier  blanchi  a  la  chaux 
et  transforme  .en  magnanerie, 
faisait  une  once  ou  deux  de 
vers  a  soie  ;  et,  quand  la 
reussite  etait  bonne,  cela  leur 
permettait  de  s'offrir  quelques 
douceurs.  L'elevage  des  vers 
a  soie  n'est  pas  considere  a 
Canteperdrix  comme  travail 
artisan,  et  la  bourgeoisie 
attardee  et  appauvrie  de  ce 
coin  de  province  aime  a  se 
creer  ainsi,  sans  croire  deroger, 
un  modeste  supplement  de 
revenu. 

Mais,  helas !  les  vers  a  soie  de 
Madame  Ambroisine  n'avaient 
pas  reussi  cette  annee.  Sou- 
dain,  la  bonne  figure  pre- 
occupee  de  Monsieur  Victrice 
s'eclaira. 

—  Sommes-nous  betes  ?  et  je 
n'y  pensais  seulement  plus ! 
mais  je  peux  te  Facheter,  ton 
chale  .  .  .  Notre  rente  du 
Jas  de  Brame-Faim,  nous  ne 
1'avons  jamais  touchee  depuis 
Theritage  du  pauvre  oncle. 
Vona  deux  annees  de  cela  :  & 


PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION 


75 


sa  sekat  fra  par  a, 
lo  total  mot  a  trwa  sa 
fra  sa  lez  etere,  systo  s 
ko  ty  espere  d9  te  koko. 
la  dosy,  mosj0  e  ma- 
dam peroil  s  egzalteir  : 
p0t  5  s  lese  laterne 
esi?     trwa  sa  fra, 
me  s  et  yn  som  !     e 
so  fermje,  so  frederi,  dot  il 
n  ave  same  scelmat 
apersy  la  figyir  !     yn  somein 
dyra  mosj0  e  madam 
pero:l  no  parleir  ko  dy 
vwaja:5.     kar  so  n  ete  pa 
presizema  $o:z  komod 
ko  d  atedro  lo  dome:n 
do  bram-fe,  per$e  da 
la  motaji,  o  dosy  dy 
vila:3  d  atropjeir,  hn'- 
me:m  desa  per^e  o. 
katr  ce:r  pu:r  mote, 
ota  pu:r  rodesadr  :  yn 
abscis  do  tut  de  su:r. 
lo  dima$,  5  so  truva 
pre.     yn  vwazin  ave  prete 
son  an,  e  lo  bulase  so 
§arto  u,  sy:r  d0  $e:z 
solidmat  amare,  mosj0 
e  madam  peroil  s  e- 
staleir  ta  bje  ko  mal, 
o  milj0  do  bagaisoz  e 
provizjo  akumyle  par 
skolastik. 

—  vuz  ire  drwa  syska 
atropjeir,  dize  skolas- 
tik, ki  konese  lo  pe:j  ; 


cent  cinquante  francs  par  an, 
le  total  monte  a  trois  cents 
francs  sans  les  interets,  juste  ce 
que  tu  esperais  de  tes  cocons. 
La-dessus,  Monsieur  et  Ma- 
dame Peyrolles  s'exalterent  : 
Peut-on  se  laisser  lanterner 
ainsi?  Trois  cents  francs, 
mais  c'est  une  somme !  Et 
ce  fermier,  ce  Frederi,  dont  ils 
n'avaient  jamais  seulement 
apergu  la  figure  !  Une  semaine 
durant  Monsieur  et  Madame 
Peyrolles  ne  parlerent  que  du 
voyage.  Car  ce  n'etait  pas 
precisement  chose  commode 
que  d'atteindre  le  domaine 
de  Brame-Faim,  perche  dans 
la  montagne,  au-dessus  du 
village  d'Entrepierres,  lui- 
meme  deja  perche  haut. 
Quatre  heures  pour  monter, 
autant  pour  redescendre  :  une 
absence  de  tout  un  jour. 
Le  dimanche,  on  se  trouva 
prets.  Une  voisine  avait  prete 
son  ane,  et  le  boulanger  SOD 
charreton  ou,  sur  deux  chaises 
solidement  amarrees,  Monsieur 
et  Madame  Peyrolles  s'in- 
stallerent  tant  bien  que  mal, 
au  milieu  des  bagages  et 
provisions  accumules  par 
Scholastique. 

—  Vous  irez  droit  jusqu'a, 
Entrepierres,  disait  Scholas- 
tique, qui  connaissait  le  pays  ; 


76 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


a  atrapjeir,  5  kit  la 
grarut,  me  tu  1 
mod  vuz  edikara  la  satje 
k  alor  il  fodra  pradr. 
vu  detelare  a  mimote, 
pu:r  de30ne,  pre  d  yna 
suirs  ki  e  suz  ce  $e:n. 
la  vu  lesre  1  $arto, 
parska  le  vwatyir  na  v5 
pa  ply  Iwe,  e  madam 
motara  sy:r  1  an.     sore 
vu  bate  1  an,  o  mwc ! 
3  e  ata$e  la  ba  a  1  arjeir 
da  1  ekipa:3. 
apre  katra  bonz  ceir 
da  mote,  mwatje  rula, 
mwatje  trota,  koformemat 
o  program  da  skolastik, 
a  traveir  bqisoz  e  pjeraij, 
le  vwaja3oe:r  afe  ariveir 
dava  la  3as  perdy  da  bram- 
fe. 

—  sa  n  e  pa  bo  !  di 
madam  abrwazin,  tira  syn 
la  brido  pu:r  kosidere  la 
mazyir  rusaitr,  a  kaju 
rule,  avek  so  twa  ba  d  u 
sortet  63  p0  da  fyme. 

—  le  ble  so  kleir,  rapri 
masj0  viktris,  3  i  vw 
dada  le  grijo  kuriir. 

e  madam  abrwazin  ko- 
kly  : 

—  dam  !  pu:r  sa  sekat 
fra  par  a,  5  na  p0 
purta  paz  avwair  la  5cito 
dy  marki  da  karaba. 


a  Entrepierres,  on  quitte  la 
grand'route,  mais  tout  le 
monde  vous  indiquera  le  sentier 
qu'alors  il  faudra  prendre. 
Vous  detellerez  a  mi-montee, 
pour  dejeuner,  pres  d'une 
source  qui  est  sous  un  chene. 
La  vous  laisserez  le  charreton, 
parce  que  les  voitures  ne  vont 
pas  plus  loin,  et  madame 
montera  sur  Tane.  Saurez- 
vous  bater  1'ane,  au  moins ! 
J'ai  attache  le  bat  a  Tarriere 
de  1'equipage. 

Apres  quatre  bonnes  heures 
de  montee,  moitie  roulant, 
moitie  trottant,  conformement 
au  programme  de  Scholastique, 
u  travers  buissons  et  pierrailes, 
les  voyageurs  enfin  arriverent 
devant  le  Jas  perdu  de  Brame- 
Faim. 

—  Ce    n'est    pas    beau !    dit 
madame  Ambroisine,  tirant  sur 
le   bridon  pour    considerer   la 
masure  rougeatre,  en  cailloux 
roules,  avec  son  toit  bas  d'ou 
sortait  un  peu  de  fumee. 

—  Les  bles  sont  clairs,  reprit 
Monsieur    Vicfrice,     j'y    vois 
dedans  les  grillons  courir. 

Et  Madame  Ambroisine  con- 
clut : 

—  Dame  !  pour  cent  cinquante 
francs  .par    an,    on    ne    peut 
pourtant  pas  avoir  le  chateau 
du  marquis  de  Carabas. 


PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION 


77 


masj0  viktris  eda,  ma- 
dam abrwazin  mi  pjet  a 
teir,  e  tu  le  d0  s  ava- 
se:r,  sqivi  da  1  an.     me 
sa  k  il  vwaje,  so  ki  lez 
ature  avet  de  tel  eir  do 
mizeir,  k  a  1  ide  da  dmade 
d  1  ar5<i  il  sa  sate  desa 
5ene. 

—  ty  t  eksplikra  la  pramje, 
viktris  ! 

—  il  vodre  p0teitr  mj0 
ka  sa  fy  twa,  abrwazin ! 
a  Iceir  apro$,  d0  gahpe 
eburife  ki  3we  daz  de 

ta  da  pa:j  pri:r  la  fqit. 
Iceir  me:r,  a  tre  d  file  sa 
lomi:j  syir  &  tr5  d  arbr, 
sa  dresa. 

—  vu  vuz  eit  peirdy? 
.  .  .     vuz  alje  sa  dut 
vizite  pj  e:r  ekrit  ?  .  .  . 
ab:r,  s  e  ply  ba,  pre 
da  la  surs,  k  il  fale 
tuirne  .  .  . 

viktris  ragarda  abrwazin, 
abrwazin  ragarda  viktris. 
puirta  la  kura:3  loeir  ma- 
ka  ;  il  leseir  krwair  k  il 
s  ete  perdy  e  k  ilz 
•  ale  vizite  pjeir  ekrit. 
la  fi!0iz  pary  sulase  e  di  : 

—  5  avez  y  pceir  dabor  ka 
vu  n  fysje  masj0  e 
madam  peroil,  pars  ka 

la  bje  et  a  0  e  ka  nu 
loe:r  dav5  da 


Monsieur  Victrice  aidant,  Ma- 
dune  Ambroisine  mit  pied  a 
terre,  et  tous  les  deux  s'avan- 
cerent,  suivis  de  Fane.  Mais 
ce  qu'ils  voyaient,  ce  qui  les 
entourait  avait  un  tel  air  de 
misere,  qu'a  Fidee  de  demander 
de  Fargent  ils  se  sentaient  deja 
genes. 

-  Tu  t'expliqueras  le  premier, 
Victrice  ! 

—  II  vaudrait  peut-etre  mieux 
que  ce  fut  toi,  Ambroisine  ! 

A  leur  approche,  deux  galopins 
ebouriffes  qui  jouaient  dans  un 
tas  de  paille  prirent  la  fuite. 
Leur  mere,  en  train  de  filer  sa 
quenouille  sur  un  tronc  d'arbre, 
se  dressa. 

—  Vous  vous  etes  perdus  ? 
.  .  .  Vous  alliez  sans  doute 
visiter  Pierre-Ecrite?  .  .  . 
Alors,  c'est  plus  bas,  pres 
de  la  source,  qu'il  fallait 
tourner  .  .  . 

Victrice  regarda  Ambroisine, 
Ambroisine  regarda  Victrice. 
Pourtant  le  courage  leur  man- 
qua  ;  ils  laisserent  croire  qu'ils 
s'etaient  perdus  et  qu'ils 
allaient  visiter  Pierre-Ecrite. 
La  fileuse  parut  soulagee  et  dit : 

—  J'avais  eu  peur  d'abord  que 
vous   ne   fussiez    Monsieur   et 
Madame  Peyrolles,  parce  que 
le  bien  est  a  eux  et  que  nous 
leur  devons  de  T argent. 


78 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


pqiz  el  apla  s5  mari  : 
—  ty  p0  to  motre,  f  re- 
deri,  so  ne  pa  s0  ko 
nu  krejijo. 

frederi  desadi  dy  gronje, 
sqivi  par  lez  afa  do  lez 
j0  timid  liuze.     il 
ofrit  o  vizitceir  dy  le,  il 
n  ave  pa  do  ve  !  dy  mjel 
a  rejo,  de  nwaz  e  de 
pom. 

—  s  e  tu  s  ko  1  5 
truv  isi,  la  te:r  e  si 
poivr !     cer0:zma  ko 
le  nuvo  meitr  no  nu 
trakas  pa  pir.r  peje  ; 
sa  sla,  o  n  ore  k  a 
meitr  ia  kle  su  la  poirt. 
do  bj  e  bon  30.  ko 

nu  n  avo  same  vy. 
me  vu  dove  le  kon- 
e:tr  si  vuz  e:t  do  la 
vil? 

abrwazin  e  viktris  di:r 
k  an  ef  e  il  koneset 
ce  p0  le  peroil.     spa- 
da  lo  soleij  bese  ;  il 
fale-pradr  yn  desizjo. 

—  parl,  dize  madam  a- 
brwazin. 

—  no,  parl,  twa  !  dize  mos- 
j0  viktris. 

il  no  parleir  ni  1  oe  ni 

lotr. 

bje  mj0,  ka  madam 

abrwazin  romota  sy:r  1  an, 

alo:r  la  fam  s  aproja  : 


Puis  elle  appela  son  mari  : 
-  Tu  peux  te  montrer,  Fre- 
deri, ce  n'est  pas  ceux  que 
nous  craignions. 
Frederi  descendit  du  grenier, 
suivi  par  les  enfants  dont  les 
yeux  timides  luisaient.  II 
offrit  aux  visit eurs  du  lait,  il 
n'avait  pas  de  vin  !  du  miel 
en  rayon,  des  noix  et  des 
pommes. 

—  C'est     tout     ce     que     Ton 
trouve    ici,     la    terre    est    si 
pauvre !      Heureusement    que 
les  nouveaux  maitres  ne  nous 
tracassent    pas    pour    payer  ; 
sans    cela,    on    n'aurait    qu'a 
mettre  la  clef  sous  la  porte. 
De    bien    bonnes     gens     que 
nous     n'avons     jamais     vus. 
Mais    vous    devez     les     con- 
naitre     si     vous   etes     de    la 
ville? 

Ambroisine  et  Victrice  dirent 
qu'en  effet  ils  connaissaient 
un  peu  les  Peyrolles.  Cepen- 
dant  le  soleil  baissait  ;  il 
fallait  prendre  une  decision. 

—  Parle,  disait  Madame  Am- 
broisirie. 

—  Non,  parle,  toi !  disait  Mon- 
sieur Victrice. 

Ils    ne    parlerent    ni    Fun    ni 

Fautre. 

Bien   mieux,   quand   Madame 

Ambroisine  remonta  sur  Fane, 

alors  la  femme  s'approchant  : 


PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTION 


79 


—  vu  purje  p0te:tra 
vu  $ar3e  d  yn  petit 
komisjo,  pijiska  vu  ro- 
turnez  a  la  vil.     il  s 

da  porte  sla  da  notra  pair,  a 

sa  brav  masj0,  a  set 

brav  madam  pero:l. 

s  etet  ce  gra  kok,  meigr 

e  sek,  ki  protests,  Ije  par 

le  pat. 

5  la  syspudit  o  kro§e 

dy  ba  .  .  .     e  lo  swair,  ka 

le  d0  vj0  fi:r  lce:r 

ratre  da  kataperdri,  syir 

la  $art5,  le  301  dize 

dava  le  port,  avek  yna 

nqas  d  avi  : 

—  vwala  madam  abrwazin 
e  masj0  viktris  ki  s  a 
ravjent  a  vwatyir  da 

tu$e  loeir  rat  da  bram- 
fe! 


—  Vous  puurriez  peut-etre 
vous  charger  d'une  petite 
commission,  puisquo  vous  re- 
tournez  a  la  ville.  II  s'agirait 
de  porter  cela  de  noire  part,  a 
ce  brave  monsieur,  a  cette 
brave  madame  Peyrolles. 
C'etait  un  grand  coq,  maigre 
et  sec,  qui  protestait,  lie  par 
les  pattes. 

On  le  suspendit  au  crochet 
du  bat  ...  Et  le  soir,  quand 
les  deux  vieux  firent  leur 
rentree  dans  Canteperdrix,  sur 
ie  charreton,  les  gens  disaient 
devant  les  portes,  avec  une 
nuance  d'envie  : 
—  Voila  Madame  Ambroisine 
et  Monsieur  Victrice  qui  s'en 
reviennent  en  voiture  de 
toucher  leur  rente  de  Brame- 
Faim! 

—  PAUL  ARENE. 


plezhr  d  amuir 

eposibla  da  rje  truve 
da  set  abominable  mazyir 
u  nu  rotane  prizonje 
yni  plyz  abominabl  aveirs  ; 
e  nuz  etjo  preska  rezijie, 
domne  e  mwa,  a  muriir  da 
f  e  pu:r  ce  su:r,  ka, 
parmi  le  glusata  pro- 
testasjo  da  trwaz  u  katr0 
me:gra  pul  refysje  syir 
la  metreis  puitra  dy  agar, 


Plaisir  d'amour 

Impossible  de  rien  trouver 
dans  cette  abominable  masure 
ou  nous  retenait  prisonniers 
une  plus  abominable  averse  ; 
et  nous  etions  presque  resignes, 
Domnin  et  moi,  a  mourir  de 
faim  pour  un  jour,  quand, 
parmi  les  gloussantes  pro- 
testations de  trois  ou  quatre 
maigres  poules  refugiees  sur 
la  maitresse  poutre  du  hangar, 


80 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


nu  vim  aselm  ra- 
pareitr,  syperb,  le  $v0z 
iradje  da  bre  da  paij,  e 
tanat  o  kr0  da  se  mez 
yni  a  korbeij,  yna  duzein 
d  0  k  il  ave  deni$e. 
avek  de  po  d  sidr  a  gra 
pen  optany  e  la  resta  da 
pe  bi  dekuve:r  o  fo  da 
la  u:§,  sasi  nu  promete, 
sin5  de  rapa  kofortabla,  dy 
mwe  da  kwa  satisfeir  noz 
apeti. 

la  boeir,  elas,  faza  defo, 
esi  d  ajoeir  ka  la  lar  e 
1  ijil,  il  fyt  imiedjatma 
deside  ka  1  5  masaret  a  la 
kok  se  duz  0  provi- 
dasj  el. 

me,  ki  ale  sa  S^rse  dy 
swe  da  le  kui:r?     1  operasjo 
e  delikat  ;  tu  dabor  33 
ma  rekyze.     domne  a  fit 
ota.     kat  o  brav 
aselm  .  .  .  ekute  sa  ka 
dit  aselm ! 

—  dez  0  a  la  kok?     rje 
da  ply  sepl !  e  sa  pre- 
zopsjo,  33  garati  da  le 
reysiir.     soelma  .  .  . 

—  a  !  il  j  a  db  soelma. 

—  wi !  soelmat  il  ma  fo 
dret  yn  gitair. 

set  aselm  ete  pozitivma 
fu  :  yn  gitair  puir  kqiir 
dez  0?     kel  asosjasjo 
d  ide  seguljeir. 


nous  vimes  Anselme  re- 
paraitre,  superbe,  les  cheveux 
irradies  de  brins  de  paille,  et 
tenant  au  creux  de  ses  mains 
unies  en  corbeille,  une  douzaine 
d'oeufs  qu'il  avait  deniches. 
Avec  un  pot  de  cidre  a  grand' - 
peine  obtenu  et  le  restant  de 
pain  bis  decouvert  au  fond  de 
la  huche,  ceci  nous  promettait, 
sinon  un  repas  confortable,  du 
moins  de  quoi  satisfaire  nos 
appetits. 

Le  beurre,  helas,  faisant  def  aut, 
ainsi  d'ailleurs  que  le  lard  et 
Fhuile,  il  fut  immediatement 
decide  que  Ton  mangerait  a  la 
co que  ces  douze  osufs  provi- 
dentiels. 

Mais,  qui  allait  se  charger  du 
soin  de  les  cuire?  L'operation 
est  delicate  ;  tout  d'abord  je 
me  recusai.  Domnin  en  fit 
autant.  Quant  au  brave 
Amselme  .  .  .  ecoutez  ce  que 
dit  Anselme ! 

—  Des  oeuf  s  a  la  coque  ?     Rien 
de  plus  simple !  et  sans  pre- 
somption,    je   garantis   de   les 
reussir.     Seulement  .  .  . 

—  Ah  !  il  y  a  un  settlement, 

—  Oui !   seulement  il  me  fau- 
drait  une  guitare. 

Cet  Anselme  etait  positivement 
fou  :  une  guitare  pour  cuire 
des  osufs?  Quelle  association 
d'idees  singuliere. 


PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION 


81 


dy  rest,  kom  la  f  e 
prese  e  k  okce  do  nu 
n  ave  da  gitair  syir  swa,  5 
pri  lo  sas  parti  d  kuiir  lez 
0  o  pati  bonoeir,  a  le 
fura  tu  sepbma 
da  do  1  o  buijat.     ta 
pi  si,  par  mak  d  eks- 
perjas,  nu  n  obtanjo  k 
dez  0  dyir,  a  la  plas  dez 

0  Iet0z  e  krem0  ka 
reive  notra  guirmadiz. 
e,  pada  ka  la  f0  s  aly- 
me,  sa  ki  fy  15,  kar,  de 
bo  kar  d  ceir  dyra,  la 
bwa  veir  e  muije  vomi  de 
flo  d  epeis  fyme  u  na 
brijet  okyin  flam  ;  pa- 
da  ka  da  la  luirda 
marmit  de  fot,  1  o  faze 
de  faso  puir  bujiir, 
aselm,  plezate  amikal- 
ma  o  syse  da  sez  etrasa 
prosede  kylinerr,  y  tu 

1  ta  d  nuz  eksplike 
kel  rapoir  egziste,  a  so 
pwe  da  vy,  atra  la  gitair 
e  la  kuiso  dez  0. 

—  rije,  supiret  aselm, 
rije  !  sa  ki  vu  sabla  si 
komik  eveij  a  mwa  tut 
o  kotreir  de  suvaniir 
pie  d  etima  melakoli. 
s  et  esi  :  lez  0  ma  f  o 
soje  a  la  gitair,  la  gitair 
a  kuzin  aneit  ;  e,  ra- 
mota  la  kura  de  suir 


Du  reste,  comme  la  faim 
pressait  et  qu'aucun  de  nous 
n'avait  de  guitare  sur  soi,  on 
prit  le  sage  parti  de  cuire  les 
oeufs  au  petit  bonheur,  en  les 
fourrant  tout  simplement 
dans  de  Peau  bouillante.  Tant 
pis  si,  par  manque  d'ex- 
perience,  nous  n'obtenions  ^ue 
des  osufs  durs,  a  la  place  des 
ceufs  laiteux  et  cremeux  que 
revait  notre  gourmandise. 
Et,  pendant  que  le  feu  s'allu- 
mait,  ce  qui  fut  long,  car,  un 
bon  quart  d'heure  durant,  le 
bois  vert  et  mouille  vomit  des 
riots  d'epaisse  fumee  ou  ne 
brillait  aucune  flamme  ;  pen- 
dant que  dans  la  lourde 
marmite  de  fonte,  Feau  faisait 
des  fagons  pour  bouillir, 
Anselme,  plaisante  amicale- 
ment  au  sujet  de  ses  etranges 
precedes  culinaires,  eut  tout 
le  temps  de  nous  expliquer 
quel  rapport  existait,  a  son 
point  de  vue,  entre  la  guitare 
et  la  cuisson  des  oeufs. 
—  Riez,  soupirait  Anselme, 
riez !  ce  qui  vous  semble  si 
comique  eveille  en  moi  tout 
au  contraire  des  souvenirs 
pleins  d'intime  melancolie. 
C'est  ainsi  :  les  oaufs  me  font 
songer  a  la  guitare,  la  guitare 
a  coucme  Annette  ;  et,  re- 
montant le  courant  des  jours 


82 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


dispary,  59  ma  vwa  tu 
game  daz  ce  gra  sal  5 
tady  do  perrs  o  kuloeir 
kle:r,  s  uvra  da  ple- 
pje  sy:r  oe  3arde  p0  kyltive 
ki  fwazone  d  eirbo  fol, 
avek  do  oito  ro:z  tremjeir 

0  kalis  dekeil  mil 
buirdo  tusuir  burdo- 
na  e  pareijz  a  yn  bada 
do  patisjez  ivra  s  afari- 
ne  da  polen  d  or. 

s  e  la  k  abite  kuzin 
aneit.     036  do  pre  da 
katravez  a,  o  fo  el 
ete  ma  gra  tat  ;  me  3 

1  apole  kuzin  aneit, 
kom  tu  lo  mod,  pars 
kan  efe,  §ak  ane  nu- 
veil,  o  Ij0  d  la  vjejiir,  Iqi 
aporte  puir  esi  di:r  ce 
syrkrwa  do  grass  afatin. 
potit,  d  la  taij  k  o  re:v 

o  fe,  so  korsais  reste 
supl  e  mes.     se  $v0 
ete  si  f  e,  avek  do  si 
viva  rofle  k  il  par- 
ese  bio  o  solej  e 
su  le  lymjeir.     avek  sla 
for  koket  do  s5  pje 
mijio,  ka  volotjez  el 
motre,  e  da  sa  me  de  p0 
amegri  u  le  bag  da 
fam  no  tone  ply,  so 
ki  1  avet  oblise,  dopui 
kelko  ta,  a  rapradra 
se  bisu  da  seen  fiij. 


disparus,  je  me  vois  tout 
gamin  dans  un  grand  salon 
tendu  de  perse  aux  couleurs 
claires,  s'ouvrant  de  plain- 
pied  sur  un  jardin  peu  cultive 
qui  foisonnait  d'herbes  folles, 
avec  de  hautes  roses  tremieres 
au  calice  desquelles  mille 
bourdons  toujours  bourdon- 
nants  et  pareils  a  une  bande 
de  patissiers  ivres  s'enfari- 
naient  de  pollen  d'or. 
C'est  la  qu'habitait  cousine 
Annette.  Agee  de  pres  de 
quatre-vingts  ans,  au  fond  elle 
etait  ma  grand' tante  ;  mais  je 
Pappelais  cousine  Annette, 
comme  tout  le  monde,  parce 
qu'en  effet,  chaque  annee  nou- 
velle,  au  lieu  de  la  vieillir,  lui 
apportait  pour  ainsi  dire  un 
surcroit  de  grace  enfantine. 
Petite,  de  la  taille  qu'on  reve 
aux  fees,  son  corsage  restait 
souple  et  mince.  Ses  cheveux 
etaient  si  fins,  avec  de  si 
vivants  reflets  qu'ils  pa- 
raissaient  blonds  au  soleil  et 
sous  les  lumieres.  Avec  ceh 
fort  coquette  de  son  pied 
mignon,  que  volontiers  elle 
montrait  et  de  sa  main  un  peu 
amaigrie  ou  les  bagues  de 
femme  ne  tenaient  plus,  ce 
qui  1'avait  obligee,  depuis 
quelque  temps,  a  reprendre 
ses  bijoux  de  jeune  fille. 


PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION 


83 


da  meim,  e  par  sin't  sa 
dut  d  ce  misterj0  re- 
jonma,  tu  parese 
3oen  otuir  da  kuzin 
aneit  :   la  fotoeij  orne  da 
d0  sfeks,  le  $e:z  a 
form  da  liir,  la  grad 
komod  e  se  kin'ivra, 
1  etra3  moebl  a  kolonet 
raprezata  la  tapla  da  vesta 
ki  Iqi  serve  da  tabl  a 
uvrais,  e  le  vj0  livra 
k  el  lize,  e  le  vjeij 
$as5  k  el  $ate  d  yna 
vwa  feibl,  me  dusma 
vibrat.     da  la  naivate  da 
mo  koeir  d  afa,  33  nuri- 
sez  a  1  adrwa  da  kuzin 
aneit  de  satima  mal 
defrni,  ply  vwaze  a  ku  syir 
da  I  amuir  ka  d  1  amitje. 
osi  pu:r  rjen  o  mod,  ni 
puir  yii  bejiad  d  ekolje, 
1  ete,  o  kura  kleir  da  la 
rivjeir,  ni  puir  yn  kuirs, 
1  iveir,  la  lo  de  ru:t 
sonoirz  e  dy:r,  ka  la 
glas  foeijte  a  vitr, 
krak  su  la  pje  da  le 
fose,  puir  rjen  o  mod 
3a  n  ore  vuly  make 
1  ekstraordineir  de30ne  ka, 
§aka  30di,  m  ofre  §ez 
el  kuzin  aneit. 
dy  pe  fre,  dy  boeir  e 
dez  0  ...     0z  ekski  e 
kqiz  a  myzik ! 


De  meme,  et  par  suite  sans 
doute  d'un  mysterieux  ra- 
yonnement,  tout  paraissait 
jeune  autour  de  cousine 
Annette  :  le  fauteuil  orne  de 
deux  sphinx,  les  chaises  en 
forme  de  lyre,  la  grande 
commode  et  ses  cuivres, 
1'etrange  meuble  a  colonnettes 
representant  le  temple  de  Vesta 
qui  lui  servait  de  table  a 
ouvrage,  et  les  vieux  livres 
qu'elle  lisait,  et  les  vieilles 
chansons  qu'elle  chantait  d'une 
voix  faible,  mais  doucement 
vibrante.  Dans  la  naivete  de 
mon  coeur  d'enfant,  je  nouris- 
sais  a  Fendroit  de  cousine 
Annette  un  sentiment  mal 
defini,  plus  voisin  a  coup  sur 
de  T  amour  que  de  Tamitie. 
Aussi  pour  rien  au  monde,  ni 
pour  une  baignade  d'ecoliers, 
Fete,  au  courant  clair  de  la 
riviere,  ni  pour  une  course, 
Fhiver,  le  long  des  routes 
sonores  et  dures,  quand  la 
glace  feuilletee  en  vitres, 
craque  sous  le  pied  dans  les 
fosses,  pour  rien  au  monde 
je  n'aurais  voulu  manquer 
Fextraordinaire  dejeuner  que, 
chaque  jeudi,  m'offrait  chez 
elle  cousine  Annette. 
Du  pain  frais,  du  beurre  et 
des  ceufs  .  .  .  (Eufs  exquis  et 
cuits  en  musique ! 


84 


PRACTICAL   FRENCH   PHONETICS 


komci  sla?     vuz  ale 

vwair. 

il  e,  kom  $akce  se, 

dif  erat  faso  do  kqiir  lez 

0  a  la  kok.     sertein 

person  prezopty0:z 

ozo  s  a  fje  a  loeir  soel 

este.     d  oitro  kot 

Syska  d0  sa,  trwa  sa. 

d  oitroz  akoir,  pu:r  mozyre 

le  minyt,  aplwa  lo 

sablje  u  bje  ce  krono- 

me:tr  myni  d  yn  eguiij 

trot0:z.     le  devot  e  le 

soeir  turjeir  arivt  o 

me:m  rezylta,  an  egrona 

de  pater  e  dez  ave.     kuzin 

aneit,  d  espri  tusuirz 

orisinal,  avet  imasine  puir 

kulir  sez  0  yn  seremoni 

vrema  ge,  u  50  swe 

mo  roil. 

kuzin  ane:t  tone  sa 

gita:r.     Asi  sy:r  de  tabure 

ba,  mwa  3  ave,  pu:r  k5si.fi 

da  taniir  lez  0  pre  e  do 

syrveje  la  buijwar. 

—  "  kuzin  aneit,  1  o 
komas  a  ri:r  !"  .  .  .     e, 
pesa  leseiroma  le  kord, 
kuzin  aneit  prelyde. 

—  "1  o  pra  lo  galo, 
kuzin  aneit !"  .  .  . 
aloir  kuzin  aneit,  la 
rogar  o  sjel,  la  vwaz  emy, 
komase  la  naiv  romas 

do  florja : 


Comment  cela?  Vous  allez 
voir. 

II  est,  comme  chacun  sait, 
diffcrentes  fagons  de  cuire  les 
oeufs  a  la  coque.  Certaines 
personnes  presomptueuses 
osent  s'en  fier  a  leur  seul 
instinct.  D'autres  comptent 
jusqu'a  deux  cents,  trois  cents. 
D'autres  encore,  pour  mesurer 
les  minutes,  emploient  le 
sablier  ou  bien  un  chrono- 
metre  muni  d'une  aiguille 
trotteuse.  Les  devotes  et  les 
sosurs  touricres  arrivent  au 
meme  resultat,  en  egrenant 
des  Pater  et  des  Ave.  Cousine 
Annette,  d'esprit  toujours 
original,  avait  imagine  pour 
cuire  ses  oaufs  vine  ceremonie 
vraiment  gaie,  ou  je  jouais 
mon  role. 

Cousine  Annette  tenait  sa 
guitare.  Assis  sur  un  tabouret 
bas,  moi  j'avais,  pour  consigne 
de  tenir  les  oeufs  prets  et  de 
surveiller  la  bouilloire. 

— "  Cousine  Annette,  1'eau 
commence  a  rire  !"  .  .  .  Et, 
pingant  legerement  les  cordes, 
cousine  Annette  preludait. 

—  ^L'eau  prend  le  galop, 
cousine  Annette  !"  .  .  . 
Alors  cousine  Annette,  le 
regard  au  ciel,  la  voix  e*mue, 
commengait  la  naive  romance 
de  Florian : 


PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTION 


85 


"pleziir  d  amuir  no  dyiro  k  ce 

mo  ma, 
"$agre  d  amuir  dyiro  tuto 

la  vio  ! 
"5  e  tu  kite  puir  1  egrato 

silvio. 
"  elo  mo  kit  e  prat  den 

oitr  ama." 

a  so  moma,  30  dove  lese 
tobe  lez  0  da  1  o,  e 
kuzin  aneit  kotinqet  a 
myltiplija  lez  arpe:3  : 

"ta  ko  set  o  kulora 

dusoma 
"ve:r  lo  rqiso  ki  boirdo  la 

prerio, 
"30  t  emore,  mo  repete 

silvio. 
"1  o  kul  akoir,  el  a 

$0136  puirta." 

la  dosy,  30  rotire  la 
buijwar  ;  kuzin  aneit 
roprone  avek  ply  do  sa- 
tima  e  d  a:m  : 

"pleziir  d  amirr  no  dy:ro  kd) 

moma, 
"  Sagre  d  amuir  dyiro  tuto 

la  vio ! " 

e  triofaloma,  foza 
ma  parti  o  rofre  sa 
bj  e  kopradr  —  36  ko- 
pri  dopui  !  —  so  ko  set  e:r 
dy  ta  pase  evoke  puir 
kuzin  aneit  do  reivz  e 
do  du  rogre,  5  aporte 


"Plaisir  d' amour  ne  dure  qu'un 

moment, 
"  Chagrin  d'amour  dure  toute 

la  vie  ! 
"  J'ai  tout  quitte  pour  Tingrate 

Sylvie. 
"Elle  me  quitte  et  prend  un 

autre  amant." 

A  ce  moment,  je  devais  laisser 
tomber  les  ceufs  dans  Teau,  et 
cousine  Annette  continuait  en 
multipliant  les  arpeges  : 

aTant  que  cette  eau  coulera 

doucement 
"Vers  le  ruisseau  qui  borde  la 

prairie, 
"Je     t'aimerai,     me     repetait 

Sylvie. 
"L'eau    coule    encore,    elle    a 

change  pourtant." 

La-dessus,  je  retirais  la 
bouilloire  ;  cousine  Annette 
reprenait  avec  plus  de  sen- 
timent et  d'ame  : 

"  Plaisir  d'amour  ne  dure  qu'un 

moment, 
"  Chagrin  d'amour  dure  toute 

la  vie  !" 

Et  triomphalement,  faisant 
ma  partie  au  refrain  sans 
bien  comprendre  —  j'ai  com- 
pris  depuis  !  —  ce  que  cet  air 
du  temps  passe  evoquait  pour 
cousine  Annette  de  reves  et 
de  doux  regrets,  j'emportais 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


lez  0  kqi  a  pwe,  do 
nu  nu  regaljoz  a  te:t  a 
te:t  da  do  delisj0  ko- 
ktje  u  sa  vwaje,  or 
sy:r  f 5  b!0,  de  kuron 
da  miirt,  de  buke  da 
ro:z,  de  kolob  sa  be- 
kta,  dez  amuir  3\va 
dy  tabure,  de  ly:t,  de  " 
myzets  e  de  fly  it. 
ce  3u:r,  —  kuzin  aneit,  sa 
mate-la,  plyz  atadri  k  a 
son  abityid,  m  ave  mStre, 
da  le  tirwair  da  sa  komod, 
tuit  sorta  da  suvaniir,  de 
buke  dese$e,  de  letra 
Ije  da  favosir,  avek  la  portre 
d  de  bel  ofisje  a  kostym  da 
ysair  ru:3,  —  de  suir, 
faza  kuir  noz  0,  il  ma 
pary  ka  kuzin  aneit 
ralatise  par  tro  la  mazyir, 
e  33  so3ez  a  par  mwa  :  lez 
0  sa  duit  saro  dyir  sa 
swa:r.     lez  0  n  ete  pa 
dy:r,  mez  il  sa  truveir 
mole. 

—  33  n  i  kopra  r j  e, 
dize  kuzin  aneit,  vwala 
bj  e  la  promj  e:r  fwa  ka 
"pleziir  d  amuir"  ma  su 
sa  tuir-la  ...     e,  surja 
tusuir,  me  leseiramat 
atriste  :   Up0te:tr  de  p0 
d  emosjo?  e  pqi  il  fo 
krwair  k  5  sa  f  e  vjeij  ! 


les  oeufs  cuits  a  point,  dont 
nous  nous  regalions  en  tefce  a 
tete  dans  de  delicieux  co- 
quetiers  ou  se  voyaient,  or 
sur  fond  bleu,  des  couronnes 
de  myrte,  des  bouquets  de 
roses,  des  colombes  se  bec- 
quetant,  des  amours  jouant 
du  tambourin,  des  luths,  des 
musettes  et  des  flutes. 
Un  jour,  —  cousine  Annette,  ce 
matin-la,  plus  attendrie  qu'a 
son  habitude,  m'avait  montre, 
dans  les  tiroirs  de  sa  commode, 
toutes  sortes  de  souvenirs,  un 
bouquet  desseche,  des  lettres 
liees  de  faveurs,  avec  le  portrait 
d'un  bel  officier  en  costume  de 
hussar  d  rouge,  —  un  jour, 
faisant  cuire  nos  oaufs,  il  me 
parut  que  cousine  Annette 
ralentissait  par  trop  la  mesure, 
et  je  songeais  a  part  moi  :  les 
oeufs  sans  doute  seront  durs  ce 
soir.  Les  oeufs  n'etaient  pas 
durs,  mais  ils  se  trouverent 
mollets. 

—  Je  n'y  comprends  rien, 
disait  cousine  Annette,  voila 
bien  la  premiere  fois  que 
"Plaisir  d'amour"  me  joue 
ce  tour-la  .  .  .  Et,  souriant 
toujours,  mais  legerement 
attristee  :  "Peut-etre  un  peu 
d'emotion?  et  puis  il  faut 
croire  qu'on  se  fait  vieille ! 


PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTION 


87 


s  e  la  ladame  da  sa  5u:r 
ke  kuzin  ane:t  mury. 


C'est  le  lendemain  de  ce  jour 
que  cousine  Annette  mourut. 
—  PAUL  ARENE. 


la  bo  dj0  da  Samije 

ki  n  e  ni  pu:r  ni  kotr 

lesada  da  turem 

la  kyre  da  Samije  s  an 
ale  porte  la  bo  dj0  a  ce 
malad. 

vrema,  s  ete  pitje  da  8036 
ka  kelkce  puve  muriir 
par  ce  si  bo  3u:r  d  ete,  a 
plen  &3elys  da  midi,  la 
moma  da  la  vi  e  da  la 
lymjeir. 

s  ete  pitje  osi  da  8036 
ka  sa  poivra  kyre  avet  ete 
oblise  da  sa  me:tr  a  ru:t 
tu  da  suit  a  sorta  da 
tabl,  a  1  ceir  u  d  abityjd 
il  ale  —  la  brevjeir  o 
me  —  f  e:r  ce  bu  da 
sjest  su  sa  patit  toneil  da 
viji,  o  fre  e  o  rapo 
d  ce  3oli  sarde  pie  da 
pe:$  myir  e  da  roiz 
tremjeir. 

"sejiceir,  33  vu  1  ofr," 
pase  la  set  om  a 
supira,  e  mote  sy:r  cen 
a:na  gri  avek  so  bo  dj0 
dava  Iqi  a  traveir  dy  ba, 
il  sqive  la  pati  Same  a 
mikoit  atra  la  ro$  ru:3 


Le  bon  Dieu  de  Chemille 
qui  n'est  ni  pour  ni  contre 

Legende  de  Touraine 

Le  cure  de  Chemille  s'en  allait 
porter  le  Bon  Dieu  a  un 
malade. 

Vraiment  c'etait  pitie  de  songer 
que  quelqu'un  pouvait  mourir 
par  un  si  beau  jour  d'ete,  en 
plein  Angelus  de  midi,  le 
moment  de  la  vie  et  de  la 
lumiere. 

C'etait  pitie  aussi  de  songer 
que  ce  pauvre  cure  avait  ete 
oblige  de  se  mettre  en  route 
tout  de  suite  en  sortant  de 
table,  a  Fheure  ou  d'habitude 
il  allait  —  le  breviaire  aux 
mains  —  faire  un  bout  de 
sieste  sous  sa  petite  tonnelle  de 
vigne,  au  frais  et  au  repos 
d'un  joli  jardin  plein  de 
peches  mures  et  de  roses 
tremieres. 

"  Seigneur,  je  vous  1'offre," 
pensait  le  saint  homme  en 
soupirant,  et  monte  sur  un 
ane  gris  avec  son  Bon  Dieu 
devant  lui  en  t ravers  du  bat, 
il  suivait  le  petit  chemin  a 
mi-cote  entre  la  roche  rouge 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


tut  pike  da  muisaz  a 
flceir,  e  la  pata  da  ka:ju 
e  da  oita  brusa:j  ki 
degregole  3ysko  preri. 
1  a:n  parejma,  la  po:vr 
a:n,  supire  "sejiceir,  33 
vu  1  ofr,"  e  il  la  supiret 
a  sa  manjeir,  a  lava  tatot 
yn  oreij,  tato  1  o:tr, 
pu:r  $ase  le  mu:$  ki 
la  turmate. 
s  e  k  el  so  me$at 
e  burdonat,  le  mu$ 
da  midi  ;  avek  sla,  la  koit 
a  mote,  e  la  kyre  da  $a- 
mije,  ki  paze  si  lu:r, 
syrtut  a  sorta  da  tabl ! 
da  taz  a  ta  de  peiza 
pase  syr  la  §me  e  sa 
raset  ce  bre  pu:r  fe:r 
plas  o  bo  dj0,  avek  sa 
ku  da  $apo  partikylje 
de  peiza  da  turem  ; 
1  ce:j  male  e  la  saly  re- 
spekty0,  la  ragair  ki  a 
1  e:r  da  s  moke  dy  sest. 
a  JakdB  masj0  la  kyre 
rade  so  saly  puir  la 
kot  dy  bo  dj0,  tre 
polima,  me  sa  bje  savwair 
se  k  il  faze,  kar  sa  te:t 
komaset  a  sa  rapliir  da 
someij. 

la  taz  ete  $o,  la  ru:t 
bla^.     o  ba  dy  koto, 
derjeir  le  poeplije,  le  pti 
flo  d  la  Iwair  rasablet 


toute  piquee  de  mousses  en 
fleurs,  et  la  pente  de  cailloux 
et  de  hautes  broussailles  qui 
degringolait  jusqu'aux  prairies. 
L'ane  pareillement,  le  pauvre 
ane,  soupirait  "  Seigneur,  je 
vous  Foffre,"  et  il  le  soupirait 
a  sa  maniere,  en  levant  tantot 
une  oreille,  tantot  Fautre, 
pour  chasser  les  mouches  qui 
le  tourmentaient. 
C'est  qu'elles  sont  mechantes 
et  bourdonnantes,  les  mouches 
de  midi  ;  avec  cela,  la  cote 
a  monter,  et  le  cure  de  Che- 
mille,  qui  pesait  si  lourd, 
surtout  en  sortant  de  table ! 
De  temps  en  temps  des  paysans 
passaient  sur  le  chemin  et  se 
rangeaient  un  brin  pour  faire 
place  au  Bon  Dieu,  avec  ce 
coup  de  chapeau  particulier 
des  paysans  de  Touraine  ; 
Tceil  malin  et  le  salut  re- 
spectueux,  le  regard  qui  a 
Fair  de  se  moquer  du  geste. 
A  chacun  Monsieur  le  cure 
rendait  son  salut  pour  le 
compte  du  Bon  Dieu,  tres 
poliment,  mais  sans  bien  savoir 
ce  qu'il  faisait,  car  sa  tete 
commengait  a  se  remplir  de 
sommeil. 

Le  temps  etait  chaud,  la  route 
blanche.  Au  bas  du  coteau, 
derriere  les  peupliers,  les  petits 
flots  de  la  Loire  ressemblaient 


PHONETIC   TRANSCRIPTION 


89 


a  dez  ekaij  d  arsa  eblui- 

sat.     tuit  set  lymjeir 

repady,  se  buirdonma 

d  abeij  ki  sulave  de 

pusj  e:r  da  floeir  syr  la 

ru:t,  ]a  $ci  de  griv  da 

le  viiji,  de  $a  oer0 

da  potit  be:t  gurma:d  e 

rasazje,  a$ave  d  asupiir 

la  kyrej  tut  etuirdi  desa  par 

ce  b5  des0ne  da  ve  bla 

e  da  rijeit.     vwala  ka, 

pase  viladri,  la  u  la  ro§ 

davje  ply  o:t  e  la 

redijo  plyz  etrwa,  la  kyre 

da  $amije  fy  tire  vivama 

da  so  someij  par  le  "dja  ! 

y !"  d  de  Sartje  ki  s  a 

vanet  a  fas  da  Iqi,  avek  de 

gra  Jarjo  da  fwe  balase 

luirdama  a  $ak  tu:r  da 

ru. 

la  moma  ete  kritik. 

me:m  a  sa  seira  la  ply 

posiibla  kotra  la  ro§,  il 

n  j  ave  pa  plas  puir  d0 

da  la  $me  ...     ra- 

desadra  3ysk  a  la  gra 

ru:t?     la  kyre  na  la  puve 

pa,  eja  pri  sa  satje 

pu:r  ale  ply  vit  e  sa$a 

so  malad  a  tut  ekstremite. 

se  s  k  il  eseja  d  eks- 

plike  o  $a;rtje  ;  me 

la  rystra  na  vule  rjen 

atadr. 

^Sa  sqi  fa$e,  masj0 


a  des  ccailles  d'argent  eblouis- 
santes.  Toute  cette  lumiere 
repandue,  ces  bourdonnements 
d  abeilles  qui  soulevaient  des 
poussieres  de  fleurs  sur  la 
route,  le  chant  des  grives  dans 
les  vignes,  un  chant  heureux 
de  petite  bete  gourmande  et 
rassasiee,  achevaient  d'assoupir 
le  cure,  tout  etourdi  deja  par 
un  bon  dejeuner  de  vin  blanc 
et  de  rillettes.  Voila  que, 
passe  Villandry,  la  ou  la  roche 
devient  plus  haute  et  le 
raidillon  plus  etroit,  le  cure 
de  Chemille  fut  tire  vivement 
de  son  sommeil  par  les  "dial 
hue !"  d'un  charretier  qui  s'en 
venait  en  face  de  lui,  avec  un 
grand  chariot  de  foin  balance 
lourdement  a  chaque  tour  de 
roue. 

Le  moment  etait  critique. 
Meme  en  se  serrant  le  plus 
possible  centre  la  roche,  il 
n'y  avait  pas  place  pour  deux 
dans  le  chemin  .  .  .  Re- 
descendre  jusqu'a,  la  grand'- 
route?  Le  cure  ne  le  pouvait 
pas,  ay  ant  pris  ce  sentier 
pour  aller  plus  vite  et  sachant 
son  malade  a  toute  extremite. 
C'est  ce  qu'il  essaya  d'ex- 
pliquer  au  charretier  ;  mais 
le  rustre  ne  voulait  rien 
entendre. 
"J'en  suis  fache,  Monsieur 


90 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


1  kyre,  dit  il  sa  retire  sa 
pip  ;   me  la  3u:rne  e 
tro  So:d  puir  ka  33  m  a 
ratuirn  ve:r  aze  par  la 
detuir.     bo  puir  vu,  ki 
vuz  an  ale  bj  e  trakil- 
ma  sy:r  votr  am  .  .  . 

—  me,  maloer0,  ty  n  a 
dak  pa  vy  sa  ka  3  e  la. 
s  e  la  bo  dj0,  move 
kretje,  la  bo  dj0  da 
Samije,  ka  33  port  a  oe 
malad. 

—  33  sui  da  viladri,  rikana 
la  §artje.     la  bo  dj0 

da  §amije  na  ma  ragairda 

pa  ...     dja  !  y  !"  e  la 

paj  e  al53a  oe  ku  d 

fwe  a  son  atala:3  puir  la 

feir  avase,  o  riska 

d  avwaje  1  am  e  tu  s 

k  il  j  ave  dasy  rule 

o  ba  dy  koto,  da  1 

patyra:3. 

notra  kyre  n  ete  pasja  ka 

tu  syst.     "a  !  s  e  kom 

sla.     e  bje,  ata  !"     e, 

sotat  a  ba  da  sa  beit,  il  poza 

bje  delikatma  la  bo  d]0 

da  §amije  o  boir  dy  S^rne, 

syir  yn  tuf  da  serpole, 

parmi  le  3ane  d  or  e  lo 

liknis  bla,  vre  nap 

d  otel  flceri  e  parfyme, 

kom  o  n  a  truv  pa 

meim  a  la  katedral  da 

se  marte  da  tu:r.     pqi 


le  cure,  dit-il  sans  retirer  sa 
pipe  ;  mais  la  journee  est 
trop  chaude  pour  que  je  m'en 
retourne  vers  Azay  par  le 
detour.  Bon  pour  vous,  qui 
vous  en  allez  bien  tranquille- 
ment  sur  votre  ane  .  .  . 

—  Mais,   malheureux,  tu  n'as 
done   pas   vu   ce   que   j'ai   la. 
C'est   le   Bon   Dieu,    mauvais 
chretien,     le     Bon     Dieu     de 
Chemille,   que  }e  porte  a  un 
malade. 

—  Je  suis  de  Villandry,  ricana 
le    charretier.     Le    Bon    Dieu 
de    Chemille    ne    me    regarde 
pas  .  .  .      Dial   hue!"   et  le 
pai'en    allongea    un    coup    de 
fouet  a  son  attelage  pour  le 
faire      avancer,      au      risque 
d'envoyer    Fane    et    tout    ce 
qu'il    y    avait    dessus    rouler 
au    bas    du    coteau,    dans    le 
paturage. 

Notre  cure  n'etait  patient  que 
tout  juste.  "  Ah  !  c'est  comme 
cela.  Eh  bien,  attends  !"  Et, 
sautant  a  bas  de  sa  bete,  il  posa 
bien  delicatement  le  Bon  Dieu 
de  Chemille  au  bord  du  chemin. 
sur  une  touffe  de  serpolet, 
parmi  les  genets  d'or  et  les 
lychnis  blancs,  vraie  nappe 
d'autel  fleurie  et  parfumee, 
comme  on  n'en  trouve  pas 
meme  a  la  cathedrale  de 
Saint- Mar  tin  de  Tours.  Puis 


PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION 


91 


la  set  om  s  asanuja  e 

fi  seta  kuirta  prijeir  :   "bo 

dj0  da  Somije,  ty  vwa  sa 

ki  m  ariv  e  ka  sa  mekrea 

va  m  obh'se  da  la  metr  a  la 

rezo.     puir  sa  f e:r,  33  n  e 

bazwe  da  person,  eja  le 

pwajie  tre  solid  e  la  bo 

drwa  da  mo  kote  .  .  .     resta 

do  la  bje  trakil,  a 

ragairde  notra  bataij,  e  na 

swa  ni  puir  ni  kotr.     son 

afeir  sara  vit  regie." 

sa  prijeir  dit,  il  sa  ralava  e 

komasa  pair  ratruse  se 

ma§,  sa  ki  fi  vwair  apre 

se  me,  se  beil  me  da 

kyre  duisaz  e  poli  pair  le 

benediksjo,  d0  pwajie  da 

bulase,  solid  kom  de 

n0  da  frem  .  .  . 

vli !  via  !     dy  pramje  ku, 

la  §artje  y  sa  pip  kase 

atr  le  da.     dy  sago, 

il  sa  truva  ku§e  o  fo 

dy  fose,  5t0,  muly, 

imiobil.     apre  kwa  la  kyre 

fi  rakyle  la  $aret,  la 

rasa  bje  swaji0zma  o 

lo  du  taly,  la  teit  dy  $val 

da  1  obr  d  de  myrje,  e 

s  an  ala  o  pati  tro  veir 

so  malad,  k  il  truva  asi 

da  se  rido  d  edjen, 

rami  d  sa  fjeivra  kom  par 

mirakl  e  a  tre  da  de- 

bu$e  de  vj0  flako  da 


le  saint  homme  s'agenouilla  et 
fit  cette  courte  priere  :  "Bon 
Dieu  de  Chemille,  tu  vois  ce 
qui  m'arrive  et  que  ce  mecreant 
va  m'obliger  de  le  mettre  a  la 
raison.  Pour  ce  faire,  je  n'ai 
besoin  de  personne,  ay  ant  les 
poignets  tr^s  solides  et  le  bon 
droit  de  mon  cote  .  .  .  Reste 
done  la  bien  tranquille,  a, 
regarder  notre  bataille,  et  ne 
sois  ni  pour  ni  centre.  Son 
affaire  sera  vite  reglee." 
Sa  priere  dite,  il  se  releva  et 
commenga  £ar  retrousser  ses 
manches,  ce  qui  fit  voir  apres 
ses  mains,  ses  belles  mains  de 
cure  douces  et  polies  par  les 
benedictions,  deux  poignets  de 
boulanger,  solides  comme  des 
noauds  de  frene  .  .  . 
Vli !  vlan  !  Du  premier  coup, 
le  charretier  eut  sa  pipe  cassee 
entre  les  dents.  Du  second, 
il  se  trouva  couche  au  fond 
du  fosse,  honteux,  moulu, 
immobile.  Apres  quoi  le  cure 
fit  reculer  la  charrette,  la 
rangea  bien  soigneusement  au 
long  du  talus,  la  tete  du  cheval 
dans  Fombre  d'un  murier,  et 
s'en  alia  au  petit  trot  vers 
son  malade,  qu'il  trouva  assis 
dans  ses  rideaux  d'indienne, 
remis  de  sa  fievre  comme  par 
miracle  et  en  train  de  de- 
boucher  un  vieux  fiacon  de 


92 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


vuvre  mus0,  pu:r  bje 
sa  rapradr  a  la  vi.     39  vu 
le:s  a  pase  si  notra  kyre 
1  eda  da  son  operasjo. 
dapqi  sa  to.  la,  la  bo 
dj0  da  $amije  e  tre 
popyleir  a  turem,  e  s  e 
hji  ka  le  turasoz  e- 
vok  da  tuit  Iceir  dis- 
pyit  :   "bo  dj0  da 
§amije,  na  swa  ni  puir  ni 
kotr  ..."     se  la  vre 
dj0  de  bataij,  sa  dj0  da 
Samije  ki  na  fe  da  favoeir 
a  person  e  le:s  $akce 
triofe  salo  sa  foirs  e 
s5  bo  drwa. 


la  tart  a  la  kreim 


fre:$  e  blod, 

babi, 
e,  pur  mon  013,  ase 

savat, 

50  ma  ragorsa  kat  5  vat 
me  ui  preta  pase 

d  avri. 
me  ma  guirmadiz  et 

ekstreim  : 

3adis,  33  1  avu  atra  nu, 
33  ma  metez  a  d0  sanu 
da  vat  yna  tart  a  la  kreim. 

mama  konese  mo  pe$e, 
osi,  ka  savez  ete  sa:s, 
el  a$ate  syr  so  pasais 
meta  friadiz  o  mar$e. 


Vouvray  mousseux,  pour  bien 
se  reprendre  a  la  vie.  Je  vous 
laisse  a  penser  si  notre  cure 
Taida  dans  son  operation. 
Depuis  ce  temps-la,  le  Bon 
Dieu  de  Chemille  est  tres 
populaire  en  Touraine,  et  c'est 
lui  que  les  Tourangeaux  in- 
voquent  dans  toutes  leur  dis- 
putes :  "Bon  Dieu  de 
Chemille,  ne  sois  ni  pour  ni 
contre  ..."  C'est  le  vrai 
Dieu  des  batailles,  ce  Dieu  de 
Chemille  qui  ne  fait  de  faveurs 
a  personne  et  laisse  chacun 
triompher  selon  sa  force  et 
son  bon  droit. 

—  PAUL  ARENE. 

La  tarte  a  la  creme 

Fraiche   et  blonde,   un   gentil 

babil, 
Et,     pour     mon     age,     assez 

savante, 

Je  me  rengorge  quand  on  vante 
Mes    huit    printemps    passes 

d'avril. 
Mais     ma     gourmandise     est 

extreme  : 

Jadis,  je  Tavoue  entre  nous, 
Je  me  mettais  a  deux  genoux 
Devant  une  tarte  a  la  creme. 

Maman  connaissait  mon  peche, 
Aussi,  quand  j'avais  ete  sage, 
Elle  achetait  sur  son  passage 
Mainte  friandise  au  marche". 


PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION 


93 


e  s  etet  ce  bonoeir  sypreim, 
de  Sarm  edisibl  e  prof  5 
ka,  da  so  panje,  tut 

of  5, 
3a  vwaje  ma  tairt  a  la  kreim. 

me  sata  ma  gete,  sata 
vule  terniir  mon  a:ma 

bla$: 
"la  tart,  el  e  la,  syr  la 

pKS.'" 
mwa  39  dize  :   "va  ta, 

va  ta." 
le  demo,  ply  fo:r  ka  mwa 

me:m, 

ma  ramane  sy:r  so  Same, 
gida  me  pa,  pusa  ma 

me, 
e  .  .  .  33  pri  la  tart  a  la 

kreim. 

ka  mama  pary  tut  a 

ku, 

3  avez  yna  frejoe:r  mortel  : 
"se  bo,  la  tarta,  ma  dit- 

el, 
mez  yna,  sa  n  e  pa  bo- 

ku. 
pu:r  kotate  1  afa  ka 

3  eim, 

mijiona,  33  v0  $aka  swair, 
a  la  plas  u  ty  va  t  aswa:r, 
metra  se  tartaz  a  la  krean." 

s  atadr  o  kuru  sa 

mersi 
d  yna  mama  ki  grod  e 

ton, 


Et  c'etait  un  bonheur  supreme, 
Un  charme  indicible  et  profond 
Quand,  dans  son  panier,  tout 

au  fond, 
Je  voyais  ma  tarte  a  la  creme. 

Mais  Satan  me  guettait,  Satan 
Voulait  ternir  mon  ame 

blanche  : 
—  "La  tarte,  elle  est  la,  sur  la 

planche." 
Moi     je     disais  :      "Va-t-en, 

va-t-en." 
Le  demon,  plus  fort  que  moi- 

meme, 

Me  ramena:it  sur  son  chemin, 
Guidant  mes  pas,  poussant  ma 

main, 
Et  .  .  .  je  pris  la  tarte  a  la 

creme. 

Quand   maman   parut   tout   a 

coup, 

J'avais  une  frayeur  mortelle  : 
"C'est  bon,  la  tarte,  me  dit- 

elle, 

Mais  une,  ce  n'est  pas  beau- 
coup. 
Pour    contenter    Fenfant    que 

j'aime, 

Mignonne,  je  veux  chaque  soir, 
A  la  place  ou  tu  vas  t'asseoir, 
Mettre  cinq  tartes  a  la  creme." 

S'attendre    au    courroux    sans 

merci 
D'une  maman  qui  gronde  et 

tonne,  „ 


94 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


e  s  atadro  di:r  ;   "o,  mi- 

non!" 
no,  me  vu  vwaje  sa 

d  isi.. 

39  kryz  a  kelko  strata3e:m, 
3  ale  supe  lo  koe:r  navre. 
o  !  stypceir  !  mama  dize 

vrc  : 
3  ave  se  tartoz  a  la  kreim. 

de  tarto  grado  .  .  . 

komo  sa  : 
pwe  no  fy  bozwe  do  mo 

batr, 
3&  mase  d0,  pqi  trwa, 

piji  katr. 

afe  la  sekje:m  i  pasa. 
me  s  e  bje  droilo  tu  do 

me:m, 
mo  di  3,  a  mo  metat  o 

li, 

50  sqi  priz  a  flagra  deli, 
e  36  de  tartoz  a  la  kreim  ! 

lo  mate,  ko  vwa  30  voni:r? 
o:tro  tarto  ko  30  devoir, 
lo  tato,  lo  swa:r,  tart  a- 

ko:r  .  .  . 
me  .  .  .  sa  no  va  do  ply 

finiir  .  .  . 
s  ete  trablat  e  lo  fr5 

bleim 

ko  3  apreade  lo  ropa  : 
—  "no,  mama,  no,  30  n  a 

v0  pa." 
—  "maso  seto  tart  a  la 

kreim." 


Et  s'entendre  dire  :     UO,  Mi- 

gnonne  f " 
Non,     mais    vous    voyez     ga 

d'ici. 

Je  crus  a  quelque  stratageme, 
J'allai  souper  le  coeur  navre. 
Oh !    stupeur !    maman    disait 

vrai  : 
J'avais  cinq  tartes  a  la  creme. 

Des        tartes        grandes  .  .  . 

comme  ca  : 
Point    ne   fut    besoin    de    me 

battre, 
J'en  mangeai  deux,  puis  trois, 

puis  quatre. 

Enfin  la  cinquieme  y  passa. 
Mais  c'est  bien  drole  tout  de 

meme, 
Me  dis-je,  en  me  mettant  au 

lit, 

Je  suis  prise  en  flagrant  delit, 
Et  j'ai  des  tartes  a  la  creme  ! 

Le  matin,  que  vois-je  venir? 

Autres  tartes  que  je  devore, 

Le  tantot,  le  soir,  tarte  en- 
core .  <  . 

Mais  .  .  c  ca  ne  va  done  plus 
finir  .  .  . 

C'etait  tremblante  et  le  front 
bleme 

Que  j'appre"hendais  le  repas  : 

—  "Non,  maman,  non,  je  n'en 
veux  pas." 

—  "Mange    cette   tarte    a   la 
creme." 


PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION 


95 


e  sala  dyra  iji  gra  3u:r. 
avek  yna  frejoeir  teribl, 
3  apersove  la  kre:m  oriibl 
a  1  ekol,  o  30,  su  me 

dra. 
il  fale  la  mase  ka 

me:m. 
—  "mama,  tu  sa  ka  ty 

vudra, 
tu,  me  ply  da  tart  a  la 

kre:m.'; 

mama  pardon  :   el  a  suri  ; 
pwe  ne  bazwe  ka  33  la 

diz, 

dy  gro  pe$e  da  guirmadiz 
mo  kceir  et  a  same  geri. 
m5  dj0  !  vu  vudrije 

ka  meim, 
e  si  me  ve:r  vu  sabla 

bo, 
m  ofriir  d0  .  .  .  trwa  .  .  . 

katra  bob5  .  .  . 
o  !  me  !  pa  da  tart  a  la 

kreim. 


Et  cela  dura  huit  grands  jours. 
Avec  une  frayeur  terrible, 
J'apercevais  la  creme  horrible 
A   Tecole,    au   jeu,    sous   mes 

draps. 
II    fallait    la    manger    quand 

meme. 
—  "Maman,   tout   ce   que  tu 

voudras, 
Tout,  mais  plus  de  tarte  a  la 

creme." 

Maman  pardonne:  elleasouri; 
Point   n'est   besoin  que   je   le 

dise, 

Du  gros  peche  de  gourmandise 
Mon  coeur  est  a  jamais  gueri. 
Mon     Dieu !     vous     voudriez 

quand  meme, 
Et  si  mes  vers  vous  semblent 

bons, 
M'offrir    deux  .  .  .  trois  . 

quatre  bonbons  «  .  . 
Oh !  mais !  pas  de  tarte  a  la 

creme. 

—  AUGUSTE  CLEMENT. 


3am  o  pe  sek 

5<iin  etet  o  pe  sek,  da 
la  kabine  nwa:r, 

pur  de  krima  kelkok  e 
makat  o  davwair, 


Jeanne  au  pain  sec  l 

Jeanne  etait  au  pain  sec,  dans 

le  cabinet  noir, 
Pour  un  crime  quelconque  et, 

manquant  au  devoir, 


irThe  phonetic  value  of  memorizing  good  poetry  cannot  be  overesti- 
mated. It  is  suggested  that  each  pupil  learn  some  poem  and  practice 
till  he  can  recite  it  perfectly. 


96 


PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 


3  ale  vwair  la  kupabl  a 

pleina  forfetyir, 
e  Iqi  glise,  da  1  5br, 

ce  po  da  kofityir 
kotreir  o  Iwa.     tu  s0 

sy:r  ki,  da  ma  site, 
rapoiza  la  saly  da  la  sosijete 
s  edijieirat,  e  3&m  a  di 

d  yna  vwa  duis  : 
"39  na  tu$are  ply  mo  ne 

avek  mo  puis, 
"39  na  ma  fare  ply  grife  par 

la  mine." 
mez  5  se  rekrije  :   "set 

afa  vu  kone, 
"  ela  set  a  kel  pwe  vuz 

eita  feibl  e  la:$, 
"  ela  vu  vwa  tusuir  riira, 

kat  o  sa  fai$  .  .  ." 
e  36  di  :   "33  n  e  rjen  a 

repodr  a  sala, 
36  toir  e  set  avek  sez 

edylsasa  la 
kon  a  tusuir  kodin'  le 

pCBplaz  a  Iceir  peirt  : 
ko  ma  met  o  pe 

sek." 

—  "o  vuz  i  metra,  se:rt, 
vu  la  merite."     3am, 

aloir,  da  s5  kwe  nwair, 
m  a  di,  lava  sy.r  mwa  sez 

j0  si  boz  a  vwa  IT*, 
pie  da  1  otorite  de  duisa 

kreatyir  : 

—  "e  bje,  mwa,  33  t  ire 
porte  de  kofityir." 


J'allai    voir    la    coupable    en 

pleine  forfaiture, 
Et   lui   glissai,    dans   I'ombre, 

un  pot  de  confiture 
Contraire  aux  lois.     Tous  ceux 

sur  qui,  dans  ma  cite, 
Repose  le  salut  de  la  societe 
S'indignerent,  et  Jeanne  a  dit 

d'une  voix  douce  : 
"  Je  ne  toucherai  plus  mon  nez 

avec  mon  pouce, 
"  Je  ne  me  ferai  plus  griffer  par 

le  minet." 
Mais  on  s'est  recrie  :    "Cette 

enfant  vous  connait, 
"Elle  sait  a  quel  point  vous 

etes  faible  et  lache, 
Elle  vous  voit  tou jours   rire, 

quand  on  se  fache  ..." 
Et  j  ai  dit  :    "Je  n'ai  rien  a 

repondre  a  cela, 
J'ai    tort    et    c'est    avec    ces 

indulgences-la 
Qu'on  a  tou  jours  conduit  les 

peuples  a  leur  perte  : 
Qu'on     me     mette     au     pain 

sec." 

—  "On  vous  y  mettra,  certes, 
Vous    le    meritez."       Jeanne, 

alors,  dans  son  coin  noir, 
M'a   dit,    levant   sur   moi   ses 

yeux  si  beaux  a  voir, 
Pleins  de  I'autorit6  des  douces 

creatures  : 
—  "Eh    bien,    moi,    je    t'irai 

porter  des  confitures." 

—  VICTOR  HUGO. 


PHONETIC  TRANSCRIPTION 


97 


libeirte 

da  kel  drwa  mete  vu  lez 

wazo  da  le  kai3? 
da  kel  drwa  ote  vu  se 

$atce:rz  o  boka:3, 
o  suirsaz,  a  1  oroir,  a  la 

nye,  o  va? 
da  kel  drwa  vole  vu  la  vi 

a  se  viva?  .  .  . 
ka  vu  kadanase  suz 

ce  rezo  da  f  eir 
tu  se  byvceir  d  azyir  f e 

puir  s  anivre  d  e:r, 
tu  se  nasceir  $arma  da 

la  lymjeira  b!0, 
§ardonare,  peso,  mwano 

fra,  o$ak0, 
na  koprane  vu  pa  ka 

vuz  e:ta  me§a? 
a  tu  sez  af  erme,  done  la 

kle  de  $a ! 
o  $a  le  rosijiol, 

o  $a  lez  ir5de:l ! 
lez  aimas  ekspjaro  tu  sa 

k  o  fet  oz  e:l  .  .  . 
la  balas  evizibl  a  d0 

platoz  opskyir : 
prane  gard  o  ka$o  do 

vuz  orne  vo  my:r  ! 
dy  treja:3  o  fil  d  or 

ne:sa  le  nwaira  griij  ; 
la  voljeira  sinistr  e  meira 

de  bastiij  ; 
respe  o  du  pasa  dez 

e:r,  de  pre,  dez  o  ! 


Liberte 

De  quel  droit  mettez-vous  les 

oiseaux  dans  les  cages? 
De    quel    droit    otez-vous    ces 

chanteurs  aux  bocages, 
Aux  sources,  a  Faurore,  a  la 

nuee,  aux  vents  ? 
De  quel  droit  volez-vous  la  vie 

a  ces  vivants?  .  .  . 
Quand   vous   cadenassez   sous 

un  reseau  de  fer 
Tous  ces  buveurs  d'azur  faits 

pour  s'enivrer  d'air, 
Tous  ces  nageurs  charmants  de 

la  lumiere  bleue, 
Chardonneret,  pinson,  moineau 

franc,  hochequeue, 
Ne    comprenez-vous    pas    que 

vous  etes  mechants? 
A  tous  ces  enfermes,  donnez  la 

clef  des  champs ! 
Aux     champs    les    rossignols, 

aux  champs  les  hirondelles  ! 
Les    ames    expieront    tout    ce 

qu'on  fait  aux  ailes  .  .  . 
La   balance    invisible    a    deux 

plateaux  obscurs  : 
Prenez  garde  aux  cachots  dont 

vous  ornez  vos  murs  ! 
Du     treillage     aux     fils     d'or 

naissent  les  noires  grilles  ; 
La    voliere    sinistre    est    mere 

des  bastilles  ; 
Respect  aux  doux  passants  des 

airs,  des  pres,  des  eaux  ! 


98      PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PHONETICS 

tu:to  la  libeirte  k  5  prat  a  Toute  la  liberte  qu'on  prend  a 

dez  wazo,  des  oiseaux, 

b  deste  syst  e  dy:r  la  Le    destin    juste    et    dur    la 

raprat  a  dez  om.  reprend  a  des  hommes. 

nuz  avo  de  tira  parsa  Nous  avons  des  tyrans  parce 

•     ka  nuz  a  som.  que  nous  en  sommes. 

VICTOR    HUGO  :    Legende    des 
siecles. 


VOCABULARY 


VOCABULARY  OF   PHONETIC 
TRANSCRIPTION 


a,  to,  at,  in,  into,  on,  of,  from, 
with,  out  (or  not  to  be  trans- 
lated) ;  a  cause  de,  because 
of;  a  carreaux,  check;  il 
visa  le  merle  a  I'aile  gauche, 
he  took  aim  at  the  black- 
bird's left  wing ;  vers  a  sole, 
silkworms ;  a  has,  down ;  a 
jamais,  forever;  reste  done 
la  trajiquille  a  regarder  notre 
bataille,  stop  there  quiet  and 
look  at  our  fight. 

abeille,  /.,  bee. 

abominable,  abominable. 

abonner,  (to)  put  down  one's 
name  as  a  subscriber ;  s'abon- 
ner,  (to)  subscribe. 

abord,  m.,  access,  approach ; 
d'abord,  at  first,  first  of  all; 
tout  d'abord,  first  and  fore- 
most. 

absence,  /.,  absence. 

accomplir,  (to)  fulfill,  realize. 

accorder,  (to)  grant. 

accrocher,  (to)  hang  up,  hook. 

accumuler,  (to)  heap  up,  ac- 
cumulate. 

accuser,  (to)  accuse. 

acheter,  (to)  buy ;  achetez-vous 
done,  go  and  buy. 


achever,  (to)  finish,  end ;  ache- 
vaient  d'assoupir  le  cure, 
made  the  priest  finally  quite 
drowsy. 

adosser,  (to)  lean  against; 
adosse,  leaning  against. 

adresser,  (to)  address. 

affaire,  /.,  business,  concern. 

affectueu-x,  -se,  affectionate. 

age,  m.,  age. 

age-e,  old ;  agee  de  pres  de  80 
ans,  being  nearly  80  years  old. 

s'agenouiller,  (to)  kneel  down. 

agir,  (to)  do,  act;  il  s'agirait 
de,  we  want  you  to. 

agrement,  m.,  pleasure. 

aider,  (to)  help ;  Monsieur  Vic- 
trice  aidant,  with  Monsieur 
Victrice's  help. 

aiguille,  /.,  needle,  hand  (of  a 
watch  or  clock) ;  aiguille  trot- 
teuse, second-hand  (of  a  watch). 

aile,  /.,  wing. 

ailleurs,  elsewhere;  d'ailleurs, 
besides,  moreover. 

aimer,  (to)  like,  love,  be  fond  of. 

ainsi,  thus,  in  this  way ;  ainsi 
que,  as  well  as ;  pour  ainsi 
dire,  so  to  say ;  ainsi  soit-il  ! 
amen  !  so  be  it ! 


99 


100 


VOCABULARY 


air,  ra.,  air,  tune;  avait  un  tel 
air  de  misere,  looked  so 
miserable;  avoir  1'air  de, 
(to)  seem  to. 

ait,  pres.  subj.  of  avoir;  jusqu'a 
ce  qu'elle  ait  les  joues  plus 
rouges  que  son  chapeau,  until 
her  cheeks  were  redder  than 
her  hood. 

aligner,  (to)  set  in  a  row. 

aller,  (to)  go ;  s'en  aller,  (to) 
go  off,  leave;  s'en  allerent 
went  off;  s'en  allait,  was 
going  off;  tu  vas  t'en  aller, 
you  must  go  and ;  aller  voir, 
(to)  go  and  see ;  d'aller  faire 
un  tour,  of  going  for  a  turn ; 
qui  est  alle,  who  went ;  vous 
allez  voir,  you  will  see. 

allonger,  (to)  deal  (a  blow). 

allumer,  (to)  light;  s'allumer, 
(to)  take  or  catch  fire,  be 
lighted. 

alors,  then,  so ;  alors  que,  when. 

amaigri,  grown  thin,  emaciated. 

amant,  m.,  lover. 

amarrer,  (to)  moor,  make  fast. 

jlme,  /.,  soul,  heart. 

ami-e,  m.  and  /.,  friend. 

amicalement,  in  a  friendly  way. 

amitie,  /.,  friendship. 

amour,  ?n.,  love,  Cupid. 

an,  m.,  year. 

ancien-ne,  old ;  des  personnes 
de  1'ancien  temps,  old- 
fashioned  people. 

ane,  m.,  donkey. 


Angelus,  m.,  Angelus. 

annee,  /.,  year. 

apercevaient,  imp.  ind.  of  aper= 
cevoir. 

apercevais,  imp.  ind.  of  aper- 
cevoir. 

apercevoir,  (to)  perceive,  no- 
tice; s'apercevoir  de,  (to) 
notice. 

apercu,  p.  p.  of  apercevoir. 

apercut,  pret.  of  apercevoir. 

appauvrir,  (to)  impoverish. 

appeler,  (to)  call;  on  les 
appelait,  they  were  called; 
s'appelait,  was  called. 

appetit,  m.,  appetite. 

apporter,  (to)  bring. 

apprehender,  (to)  dread,  fear. 

approche,  /.,  approach. 

s'approcher,  (to)  come  up. 

apres,  after. 

arboriculture,  /.,  arboriculture 
(cultivation  of  trees). 

arbre,  m.,  tree. 

archet,  m.,  bow. 

argent,  m.,  money,  silver. 

arpege,  m.,  arpeggio. 

arracher,  (to)  tear  off. 

arreter,  (to)  stop,  arrest. 

arriere,  m.,  stern,  back. 

arriver,  (to)  arrive,  happen. 

artisan,  m.,  artisan,  mechanic, 
workman ;  n'est  pas  con- 
sidere  a  Canteperdrix  comme 
travail  artisan,  is  considered 
more  of  an  art  than  a  craft 
at  Canteperdrix. 


VOCABULARY 


101 


as,  pres.  ind.  of  avoir. 

aspect,  m.f  aspect,  sight,  view; 
un  vieux  petit  homme  d'as- 
pect  miserable,  a  miserable- 
looking,  little  old  man. 

asseoir,  (to)  seat;  s'asseoir, 
(to)  sit  down ;  ou  tu  vas 
fasseoir,  where  you  sit. 

assez,  enough,  rather,  fairly. 

assis-e,  p.  p.  of  asseoir,  seated, 
sitting  down,  sitting  up. 

assit,  pret.  of  asseoir;  elle 
s'assit,  she  sat  down. 

association,  /.,  association. 

assoupir,  (to)  make  drowsy. 

assurer,  (to)  assure;  s'assurer, 
(to)  make  sure  of,  secure. 

attach er,  (to)  fasten,  tie  (up). 

attarder,  (to)  delay,  retard; 
attarde,  behind  the  times ; 
la  bourgeoisie  attardee  et 
appauvrie  de  ce  coin  de 
province,  the  impoverished 
middle  classes  in  this  se- 
cluded country-place  who 
were  rather  behind  the  times. 

atteindre,  (to)  reach,  hit,  strike, 
wound. 

atteint,  p.  p.  of  atteindre. 

attelage,  m.,  team. 

attendre,  (to)  wait  (for) ;  s'at- 
tendre  a,  (to)  expect;  sans 
attendre,  without  waiting. 

attendri,  tender. 

attrister,  (to)  sadden. 

au,  to  the,  in  the,  at  the,  at; 
au  lit,  in  bed;  au  moment 


^'  just  when;  Jeanne  au 
eiV  >J^ne  put,  '>>T'I'  dry 

<\  bread/  ' 

a>u£un-;e,  a^;,>ny;^> 

aucun-e,  pvVw'.,  hat  eric,  r,or,e ; 
aucun  ne,  not  one,  none. 

aupres  (de),  near,  close  to. 

aurais,  cond.  of  avoir  (trans- 
lated had  after  lorsque). 

aurait,  cond.  of  avoir. 

auras,  fut.  of  avoir. 

aurore,  /.,  dawn. 

aussi,  such,  so,  too,  and  so; 
un  danseur  aussi  leste,  such 
a  nimble  dancer. 

aussitot,  immediately,  at  once. 

autant,  as  much;  de  faire 
autant,  (to)  do  the  same 
thing. 

autel,  m.,  altar. 

autour  (de),  round. 

autorite,  /.,  authority. 

autre,  other;  autre  chose, 
something  else,  anything 
else;  ne  .  .  .  autre  chose, 
nothing  else ;  d'autres, 
others. 

autrefois,  formerly. 

aux,  to  the  (his,  its),  for  the, 
at  the,  on  the,  in  the  (his, 
its) ;  de  la  taille  qu'on  reve 
aux  fees,  the  size  one  dreams 
fairies  to  be  of. 

avais,  imp.  ind.  of  avoir ;  j'avais 
envie  de,  I  felt  inclined  to; 
j'avais  une  frayeur  mortelle, 
I  was  in  a  mortal  fright ;  moi 


102 


VOCABULARY 


j' avals    pour    consigne,    my 
instruct  Jons  w^re.'  fc 

avait,  "imp.  ind.  of  avoir;  il  y 
avail',  fhero  \Vvis';  Jean  aTrait 
'ben  '£o3ur,~  Jean  was  kind- 
hearted;  avait  un  tel  air  de 
misere,  looked  so  miserable. 

avance,  /.,  advance,  start ;    en 
avance   de,   in  advance,   be-  j 
forehand. 

avancer,  (to)  go  on ;  s'avancer, 
(to)  go  forward. 

avant,  before;  avant  peu,  in  a 
short  time ;  avant  que,  be- 
fore. 

avare,  m.,  miser. 

avare,  adj.,  miserly. 

Ave  M.,  Latin  Catholic  prayer. 

avec,  with,  by;  avec  un  bruit 
de  trompette,  as  loud  as  a 
trumpet ;  avec  gaite,  gayly ; 
avec  Scholastique,  I  and  Scho- 
lastique ;  avec  cela,  added  to 
that. 

averse,/.,  shower  (of  rain). 

avez,  pres.  ind.  of  avoir. 

avoir,  (to)  have ;  avoir  Tair, 
(to)  seem ;  de  lui  avoir  vole 
sa  bourse,  of  having  robbed 
him  of  his  purse ;  apres 
1'  avoir  dechire,  after  having 
torn  him ;  pour  T  avoir 
faussement  accuse,  for  hav- 
ing falsely  accused  him. 

avouer,  (to)  confess. 

avril,  m.,  April. 

ay  ant,  pres.  part,  of  avoir. 


ayez,    imperative   and   subj.    of 

avoir, 
azur,  m.,  azure. 

babil,  m.,  babble,  prattle. 

bagage,  m.  (generally  used  in 
the  plural  in  French),  luggage. 

bague,  /.,  ring. 

baignade,  /.,  dip,  bath. 

baisser,  (to)  go  down. 

balance,  /.,  scales  (for  weigh- 
ing). 

balancer,  (to)  swing  or  move 
to  and  fro. 

bande,  /.,  troop,  gang. 

bas,  m.,  bottom. 

bas-se,  low;  plus  bas.  lower 
down ;  a  bas,  down. 

bastille,  /.,  fortress-prison. 

bat,  m.,  pack-saddle. 

bataille,  /.,  battle,  fight. 

bater,  (to)  saddle. 

baton,  m.,  stick. 

battre,  (to)  beat. 

bavardage,  m.,  chatter. 

beau  (bel),  belle,  fine,  beautiful, 
handsome. 

beaucoup,  (very)  much. 

becqueter,  (to)  pick;  se  bee- 
queter,  (to)  bill  and  coo. 

bel,  see  beau. 

belle,  see  beau. 

benediction,  /.,  blessing,  bene- 
diction, benison. 

besogne,  /.,  work. 

besoin,  m.,  need;  avoir  besoin 
de,  (to)  need. 


VOCABULARY 


103 


bestiole,  /.,  creature,  beastie. 

bete,  /.,  animal,  creature,  mount. 

bete,  adj.,  silly,  stupid. 

beurre,  m.,  butter. 

bien,  m.,  property,  estate. 

bien,  adv.,  well,  very,  quite, 
very  well,  quite  well ;  si 
bien  que,  so  that ;  il  f aut 
bien  mourir,  people  MUST  die 
(this  word  is  very  much  used 
in  French  to  give  greater  em- 
phasis to  the  accompanying 
word.  It  is  often  better  in 
English  not  to  translate  it, 
but  simply  to  emphasize  the 
accompanying  word;  for  in- 
stance, il  faut  bien  mourir, 
people  MUST  die ;  mon  valet 
est  bien  force  de  rester  chez 
moi,  my  man  is  OBLIGED  to 
stay  with  me) ;  eh  bien  ! 
well !  bien  portante,  in  good 
health;  pour  bien  se  re- 
prendre  a  la  vie,  to  make 
another  good  start  in  life; 
bien  mieux,  better  still;  ou 
bien,  or  else. 

bientot,  soon. 

bijou,  m.j  jewel ;  bijoux,  jewelry. 

biquet,  m.,  kid. 

bis,  brown. 

blanc-he,  white. 

blanchir,  (to)  whiten;  blanchi 
a  la  chaux,  whitewashed. 

ble,  m.,  corn  ;  les  bles,  the  corn. 

bleme,  pale ;  le  front  bleme, 
with  a  pale  face. 


bleu,  blue. 

blond-e,  fair. 

bobinette,  /.,  string. 

bocage,  m.,  grove. 

bohemien-ne,  gypsy,  gypsy- 
man,  gypsy- woman. 

boire,  (to)  drink. 

bois,  m.,  wood. 

bon,  bon-ne,  good,  kind,  nice; 
le  bon  dieu,  God,  the  Host, 
the  Holy  Sacrament;  bon 
pour  vous  !  it's  all  very  well 
for  you!  bonne  femme, 
dame;  la  reussite  etait 
bonne,  they  were  a  great 
success. 

bonbon,  m.,  sweet,  candy. 

bondir,  (to)  bound,  caper. 

bonheur,  m.,  happiness;  au 
petit  bonheur,  as  well  as  we 
could. 

bonne,  see  bon. 

bonnet,  m.,  cap. 

bonte,  /.,  kindness,  goodness. 

bord,  m.,  edge. 

border,  (to)  skirt. 

bouillir,  (to)  boil. 

bouilloire,  /.,  kettle. 

boulanger,  m.,  baker;  poignets 
de  boulanger,  baker's  wrists. 

bouquet,  m.,  bunch  (of  flowers). 

bourdon,  m.,  drone,  humble- 
bee,  bumble-bee. 

bourdonnement,  m.,  buzzing. 

bourdonner,  (to)  hum,  buzz. 

bourgeoisie,  /.,  middle  classes.  " 

bourgeon,  m.,  bud,  shoot ;  bour- 


104 


VOCABULARY 


geon    a    bois,    branch-shoot; 

bourgeon  a  fruit,  fruit-shoot. 
bourre,  /.,  bud,  shoot. 
bourreau,  m.,  executioner. 
bourse,  /.,  purse. 
bout,  m.,  end ;  faire  un  bout  de 

sieste,  (to)  take  a  little  nap. 
bouton,  m.,  button. 
bras,  m.,  arm. 
brave,  brave,  good,  honest, 
breviaire,  m.,  breviary. 
bridon,  m.,  small  bridle. 
briller,  (to)  shine. 
brin,  m.,  blade  (of  grass),  bit. 
brindille,  /.,  twig. 
broussailles,  /.  pL,  brushwood. 
bruit,    m.,    noise ;     du   bruit,    a 

noise ;     avec    un    bruit    cje 

trompette,     as     loud     as     a 

trumpet. 

bruler,  (to)  burn, 
brusquement,  suddenly,  hastily, 
bruyere,  /.,  heather,  broom, 
buisson,  m.,  bush. 
but,  m.,  mark, 
buveur,  m.,  drinker. 

?a,  that,  it. 

cabanette,  /.,  breeding-cage. 

cabinet,  m.,  small  room ;    dans 

le  cabinet  noir,  in  the  dark, 
cachot,  m.,  dungeon. 
cadenasser,  (to)  padlock, 
cage,  /.,  cage, 
caillou,  m.,  pebble,  stone;   cail- 

loux  roules,  shingle  of  round 

stones. 


calice,  m.,  calyx. 

canon,  m.,  gun,  cannon. 

capuchon,  m.,  hood. 

car,  for. 

Carabas,  the  Marquis  de  Cara- 
bas  is  a  well-known  character 
in  the  French  fairy  tale  of 
Puss  in  Boots  (Le  chat 
botte). 

carreau,  m.,  tile;  a  carreaux, 
check. 

carrefour,  m.,  cross-roads. 

carriole,  /.,  small  cart  with  a 
hood. 

cas,  m.,  case;  en  tout  cas,  at 
all  events. 

casser,  (to)  break. 

cathedrale,  /.,  cathedral. 

cause,  /.,  cause ;  a  cause  de, 
because  of. 

ce,  adj.,  this,  that,  the;  ce 
.  .  .-ci,  this ;  ce  .  .  .-la,  that. 

ce,  pron.,  this,  that,  it  (some- 
times not  to  be  translated, 
sometimes  translated  by  a  per- 
sonal or  demonstrative  pro- 
noun, he,  she,  they,  these, 
those,  etc.) ;  ce  qui,  ce  que, 
what,  which  (sometimes  not 
translated) ;  jusqu'a  ce  que, 
until;  c'est  pour  mieux  te 
voir,  all  the  better  to  see 
you  with ;  c'est  pour  mieux 
te  serrer,  all  the  better  to 
hug  you  with;  c'est  pour 
mieux  t' entendre,  all  the 
better  to  hear  you  with; 


VOCABULARY 


105' 


c'est  pour  te  croquer,  they 
are  to  eat  you  with;  tout 
ce  que,  all  that;  c'est  que, 
that  is  because  (or  often 
not  translated) ;  c'est  bon  la 
tarte,  the  tart  is  nice. 

ceci,  this,  it. 

cela,  that,  it ;  voila  deux  annees 
de  cela,  that's  two  years  ago. 

celui,  m.,  the  one. 

cependant,  meanwhile. 

cercle,  m.,  club. 

ceremonie,  /.,  ceremony. 

cerise,  /.,  cherry  ;  son  joli  capu- 
chon  couleur  de  cerise,  her 
pretty  cherry-colored  hood. 

certain-e,  certain. 

certes,  certainly. 

cesser  (de),  (to)  stop. 

cet,  adj.,  m.,  this,  that. 

cette,  adj.,  /.,  this,  that. 

ceux,  those,  these,  the  ones,  the 
people. 

chacun-e,  every  one,  each  one. 

chagrin,  m.,  sorrow,  grief. 

chaise,  /.,  chair. 

chale,  m.,  shawl. 

champ,  m.,  field;  donnez  la 
clef  des  champs,  give  their 
liberty ;  aux  champs  les 
rossignols,  aux  champs  les 
hirondelles,  to  the  fields 
with  the  nightingales,  to  the 
fields  with  the  swallows. 

changer,  (to)  change. 

chanson,  /.,  song. 

chant,  m.,  song,  singing. 


chanter,  (to)  sing. 

chanteur,  m.,  singer. 

chapeau,  m.,  hat;  coup  de 
chapeau,  bow. 

chaperon,  m.,  hood;  le  petit 
Chaperon  Rouge,  little  Red 
Riding  Hood. 

chaque,  each,  every. 

chardonneret,  m.,  goldfinch. 

charger,  (to)  load;  se  charger, 
(to)  undertake,  take  upon 
oneself;  se  charger  d'une 
commission,  (to)  take  a  mes- 
sage, take  something. 

chariot,  m.,  wagon. 

charitable,  charitable. 

Charles  Dix,  brother  of  Louis 
XVI;  he  was  king  of  France 
1824-1830. 

charme,  m.,  charm. 
j  charmant-e,  charming. 
j  charretier,  m.,  carter,  wagoner, 
i  charreton,  m.,  little  cart. 
I  charrette,  /.,  cart. 

chasser,  (to)  drive  away. 

chateau,  m.,  castle,  hall,  country 
seat,  mansion. 

chaud-e,  warm. 

chaux,  /.,  lime ;  blanchi  a  la 
chaux,  whitewashed. 

Chemille,  a  small  city  in  Tou- 
raine  in  the  center  of  France. 

chemin,  m.,  way,  track,  path, 
road;  me  ramenait  sur  son 
chemin,  brought  me  back 
towards  it ;  en  chemin,  on 
the  way. 


106 


VOCABULARY 


chene,  m.,  oak. 

cher,  chere,  dear. 

chercher,  (to)  look  for;  en- 
voyer  chercher,  (to)  send  for. 

cherra,  future  of  choir. 

cheval,  m.,  horse. 

cheveux,  m.  pi.  (generally  used 
in  plural  in  French),  hair. 

chevillette, /.,  pin,  latch. 

chevre,  /.,  goat. 

chez,  to,  with ;  chez  ma  mere- 
grand,  to  my  grandmother's ; 
chez  elle,  at  her  house. 

chien,  m.,  dog. 

choir,  (to)  fall. 

choisir,  (to)  choose. 

chose,  /.,  thing;  autre  chose, 
something  else,  anything  else ; 
ne  .  .  .  autre  chose,  nothing 
else. 

chou,  m.,  cabbage. 

Chretien,  m.,  Christian. 

chronometre,  m.,  chronometer. 

cidre,  m.,  cider. 

ciel,  m.,  sky,  heaven ;  le  regard 
au  ciel,  looking  up  to  the  sky 
(heaven) . 

cite,  /.,  city. 

clair-e,  clear,  bright,  limpid; 
les  bles  sont  clairs,  the  corn 
is  thin ;  aux  couleurs  claires, 
bright-colored. 

clef,  /.,  key;  mettre  la  clef  sur 
la  porte,  (to)  run  away  (with- 
out paying  one's  debts) ; 
donnez  la  clef  des  champs, 
give  their  liberty. 


clou,  m.,  nail. 

cocon,  m.,  cocoon. 

coeur,  m.,  heart- 
coin,  m.,  corner ;  coin  de  prov- 
ince, secluded  country  place. 

colombe,  /.,  dove. 

colonnette,  /.,  small  column. 

combien,  how  much,  how  many. 

comique,  comic,  laughable. 

commander  (a),  (to)  command. 

commer  as,  like,  as  of;  comme 
on  n'en  trouve  pas,  such  as 
you  do  not  find;  comme 
vous  avez  de  grands  yeux, 
what  big  eyes  you  have ; 
comme  vous  avez  de  gros 
bras,  what  big  arms  you 
have;  comme  vous  avez  de 
grandes  oreilles,  what  big 
ears  you  have;  comme  vous 
avez  de  longues  dents,  what 
long  teeth  you  have ;  ah  ! 
c'est  comme  cela,  ah !  that's 
how  it  is ;  de  nuit  comme  de 
jour,  night  as  well  as  day. 

commencer,  (to)  begin. 

comment,  how ;  il  sut  comment 
fake,  he  knew  what  to  do,  he 
knew  how  to  manage;  com- 
ment cela  ?  how  was  that  ? 

commission,  /.,  message;  se 
charger  d'une  commission, 
(to)  take  a  message,  take 
something. 

commode,  easy. 

commode,  /.,  chest  of  drawers, 
bureau. 


VOCABULARY 


107 


communement,  commonly. 
compatissant-e,  compassionate. 


compliment, 


compliment ; 


recevez  mes  compliments,  I 
congratulate  you. 
comprendre,    (to)    understand ; 


sans     comprendre, 

understanding. 


without 


compris-e,  p.  p.  of  comprendre. 

compte,  m.,  account,  score; 
pour  le  compte  de,  on  ac- 
count of. 

compter,  (to)  count. 

conclure,  (to)  conclude. 

conclut,  pres.  and  pret.  of  con- 
clure. 

condamner,  (to)  sentence. 

conduire,  (to)  take,  lead. 

conduisait,  imperfect  of  con- 
duire. 

conduit,  p.  p.  of  conduire. 

conference,  /.,  lecture. 

confitures,  /.  pi.,  jam. 

conformement  (a),  according  to. 

confortable,  comfortable. 

connaissaient,  imperfect  of  con- 
naitre. 

connaissait,  imperfect  of  con- 
naitre. 

connait,  pres.  ind.  of  connaitre. 

connaitre,  (to)  know. 

connut,  subjunctive  of  connaitre. 

considerer,  (to)  consider,  sur- 
vey. 

consigne,  /.,  instructions 
(plural). 

constituer,  (to)  constitute. 


conte,  m.,  tale;  contes  de  fees, 
fairy  tales. 

content-e,  happy. 

contenter,  (to)  please,  satisfy  ; 
se  contenter  (de),  (to)  con- 
tent oneself  (with). 

contester,  (to)  dispute. 

continuer,  (to)  go  on. 

contraire,  m.,  contrary;  con- 
traire  aux  lois,  unlawfully. 

contre,  against. 

convaincre,  (to)  convict. 

convainquit,  pret.  of  convaincre. 

coq,  m.,  cock. 

coque,  /.,  shell,  egg  shell ;  ceufs 
a  la  coque,  boiled  eggs. 

coquet-te,  vain. 

coquetiery  m.,  egg-cup. 

corbeille,  /.,.  basket;  au  creux 
de  ses  mains  unies  en  cor- 
beille, in  the  hollow  depths 
of  his  linked  hands. 

corde,  /.,  string,  tether,  rope. 

corsage,  m.,  bodice. 

costume,  m.,  costume,  dress. 

c6te,  /.,  hill;  a  mi-cote,  half- 
way up  the  hill. 

coteau,  m.,  hill,  slope. 

cou,  m.,  neck;  le  loup  prit  ses 
jambes  a  son  cou,  the  wolf 
took  to  his  heels. 

coucher,  (to)  lie;  se  coucher, 
(to)  lie  down;  couche,  lying 
in  bed. 

couler,  (to)  flow ;  tant  que  cette 
eau  coulera,  as  long  as  this 
water  flows. 


108 


VOCABULARY 


couleur,  /.,  color;  son  joli 
capuchon  couleur  de  cerise, 
her  pretty  cherry-colored 
hood;  aux  couleurs  claires, 
bright-colored. 

coup,  m.,  tug,  stroke,  hit,  clap; 
coup  de  fouet,  lash;  tout  a 
coup,  all  of  a  sudden,  sud^ 
denly;  a  coup  stir,  to  a  cer- 
tainty, certainly;  coup  de 
chapeau,  bow. 

coupable,  m.  and  /.,  guilty 
person. 

couper,  (to)  cut. 

courage,  m.,  courage. 

courant,  m.,  current,  course ; 
remontant  le  courant  des 
jours  disparus,  going  back 
over  past  times. 

courir,  (to)  run  (about). 

couronne,  /.,  wreath. 

courroux,  m.,  wrath. 

course,  /.,  race. 

court-e,  short. 

cousin-e,  m.  and/.,  cousin. 

craignions,  imperfect  of  crain- 
'dre. 

craindre,  (to)  be  afraid  of, 
fear. 

craquer,  (to)  crack. 

creer,  (to)  create ;  se  creer, 
(to)  make  for  oneself. 

creme,  /.,  cream,  custard. 

cremeu-x,  -se,  creamy. 

creux,  m.,  hollow. 

crier,  (to)  cry. 

crime,  m.,  crime. 


critique,  adj.,  critical;  le  mo- 
ment etait  critique,  the  mo- 
ment was  a  critical  one. 

crochet,  ra.,  hook. 

croire  (a),  (to)  think,  believe 
(in) ;  sans  croire  deroger, 
without  considering  that  they 
are  lowering  themselves;  ils 
laisserent  croire,  they  let  it 
be  thought;  il  faut  croire,  I 
suppose. 

croquer,  (to)  eat. 

crus,  pret.  of  croire. 

crut,  pret.  of  croire ;  qui  crut  a 
une  accalmie,  who  thought 
the  storm  had  subsided. 

cueillir,  (to)  pick,  gather. 

cuire,  (to)  cook;  de  cuire,  of 
cooking;  faisant  cuire,  cook- 
ing. 

cuisson,  /.,  cooking. 

cuit,  p.  p.  of  cuire. 

cuivre,  m.,  brass,  copper. 

culinaire,  culinary. 

cultiver,  (to)  cultivate. 

cure,  m.,  parish  priest. 

d'ailleurs,  besides,  moreover. 

dame,  inter j.,  well !  why  ! 

danger eu-x,  -se,  dangerous. 

dans,  in,  into,  out  of;  puiser 
.  .  .  dans,  to  take  .  .  .  out 
of;  dans  la  misere,  desti- 
tute; toujours  dans  tes  his- 
toires  et  tes  methodes,  etc., 
always  fussing  about  your 
methods,  etc. 


VOCABULARY 


109 


danse,  /.,  dance  ;  tous  entraient 
en  danse,  all  joined  the  dance. 

danser,  (to)  dance;  pour  dan- 
ser, for  dancing. 

danseur,  ra.,  dancer. 

de,  of,  from,  to,  out  of,  in,  on, 
for,  with,  by,  any  (after  a 
negative) ;  (de  should  often 
not  be  translated) ;  d'abord, 
(at)  first;  de  plus,  besides, 
else ;  de  T,  de  la,  some,  any  ; 
d'assez  mechante  humeur, 
in  rather  a  nasty  temper ; 
bijoux  de  jeune  fille,  jewelry 
she  had  as  a  girl ;  de  meme, 
in  the  same  way. 

deboucher,  (to)  uncork,  draw 
the  cork  (of). 

dechirer,  (to)  tear. 

decider,  (to)  decide. 

decision,  /.,  decision. 

decouvert,  p.  p.  of  decouvrir. 

decouvrir,  (to)  discover. 

dedans,  in  (it). 

defaut,  m.j  fault ;  le  beurre 
helas  !  faisant  defaut,  there 
being  alas  !  a  lack  of  butter. 

definir,  (to)  define ;  mal  defini, 
ill-defined. 

degre,  ra.,  step. 

degringoler,  (to)  tumble  down ; 
qui  degringolait,  falling  down. 

deja,  already. 

dejeuner,  (to)  have  lunch. 

dejeuner,  ra.,  lunch. 

delicat-e,  delicate. 

delicatement,  delicately. 


delicieu-x,  -se,  delicious. 

delit,  ra.,  misdemeanor,  delin- 
quency ;  en  flagrant  delit, 
in  the  very  act. 

demain,  to-morrow. 

demande,  /.,  request. 

demander,  (to)  ask  (for) ;  de 
demander,  asking  for. 

demeurer,  (to)  live. 

demon,  ra.,  demon,  fiend. 

denicher,  (to)  hunt  out,  ferret 
out. 

denoncer,  (to)  denounce. 

dent,  /.,  tooth. 

depouiller,  (to)  strip,  deprive ; 
on  Tavait  depouille,  he  had 
been  stripped. 

depuis,  since ;  depuis  que, 
since ;  depuis  quelque  temps, 
some  time  before,  for  some 
time. 

derni-er,  -ere,  last. 

deroger,  (to)  derogate;  sans 
croire  deroger,  without  con- 
sidering that  they  are  lower- 
ing themselves. 

derriere,  behind;  pattes  de 
derriere,  hind  legs. 

desastre,  ra.,  disaster. 

descendre,  (to)  go  down,  come 
down. 

desquelles,  of  which. 

dessecher,  (to)  dry,  wither. 

dessus,  adv.,  on  it;  la-dessus, 
thereupon ;  au-dessus  de, 
above. 

destin,  ra.,  fate. 


110 


VOCABULARY 


deteler,     (to)     take     out     the 

horse  (s). 

detour,  turn,  bend,  way  round. 
deux,  two ;  tous  les  deux,  both 

(of  them). 
devais,  imperfect  of  devoir;    je 

devais,  it  was  my  business  to. 
devant,    in   front   of,    opposite, 

before  ;  renacler  devant,  (to) 

grumble  at. 

devenir,  (to)  become,  get. 
devenu,  p.  p.  of  devenir;   sont 

devenus,  became. 
devez,    pres.    ind.    of    devoir, 

must. 

devient,  pres.  ind.  of  devenir. 
devoir,    (to)    be    obliged    (to), 

have  to,  owe. 
devoir,  w.,  duty, 
devons,  pres.  ind.  of  devoir, 
devorer,  (to)  devour, 
devote,  /.,  pious  woman, 
devra,  fut.  of  devoir,  will  have 

to. 

diable,  m.,  devil, 
dieu,  m.,  God ;    le  bon  Dieu, 

God,    the    Host,    the    Holy 

Sacrament. 
different-e,  different. 
dimanche,  m.,  Sunday. 
dire,  (to)  tell,  say;    ce  que  je 

veux  dire,  what  I  mean, 
disais,  imperfect  of  dire, 
disait,  imperfect  of  dire, 
disant,  pres.  part,  of  dire;    en 

disant  ces  mots,  as  he  said 

these  words. 


dise,  subj.  of  dire;  point  n'est 
besoin  que  je  le  dise,  there 
is  no  need  for  me  to  say  so. 

discussion,  /.,  quarrel. 

disparaitre,  (to)  disappear. 

disparu,  p.  p.  of  disparaitre; 
les  jours  disparus,  past  times. 

disparut,  pret.  of  disparaitre. 

dispute,  /.,  dispute,  contest, 
squabble. 

dit,  pres.  ind.  of  dire. 

dit,  pret.  of  dire. 

dit,  p.  p.  of  dire ;  sa  priere  dite, 
when  his  prayer  was  said. 

doigt,  m.,  finger;  j'en  ai  encore 
les  doigts  picotes,  the  pricks 
are  still  on  my  fingers  from  it. 

doleance,  /.,  grievance. 

domaine,  m.,  domain,  property, 
state. 

don,  m.,  gift. 

done,  so ;  achetez-vous  done, 
go  and  buy;  laisse  done  les 
arbres  tranquilles,  do  leave 
the  trees  alone. 

donner,  (to)  give. 

dont,  of  which,  with  which, 
whose,  on  which ;  dont  il  se 
moucha,  with  which  he  blew 
his  nose ;  dont  il  se  servit 
encore,  which  he  used  again ; 
dont  ils  n'avaient  jamais 
seulement  apercu  la  figure, 
whose  face  they  had  never 
even  seen. 

dormir,  (to)  sleep. 

double,  double. 


VOCABULARY 


111 


doucement,  gently,  softly. 
douceur,   /.,    creature-comfort, 

luxury. 

douleur,  /.,  pain, 
doute,  ra.,  doubt;    sans  doute, 

probably,  doubtless, 
douter,  (to)  doubt;   se  douter, 

(to)  suspect. 

doux,  douce,  sweet,  soft,  gentle, 
douzaine,  /.,  dozen, 
drap,  ra.,  sheet. 
dresser,     (to)    straighten ;     se 

dresser,  (to)  stand  (straight) 

up. 
droit,  ra.,  right;    le  bon  droit, 

the  right. 

droit,  adv.,  straight. 
droite,  /.,  right ;   a  droite,  to  or 

on  the  right. 
drole,  funny. 
du,    of,   some    (often  not   to   be 

translated) ;  du  premier  coup, 

at  the  first  hit;    du  second, 

at  the  second;    du  bruit,  a 

noise, 
duquel,    rel.    pron.,    m.    s.,    of 

which;    aupres  duquel,  near 

which. 

dur-e,  hard,  hard-boiled, 
durant,    during,    for ;     une   se- 

maine    durant,    for   a   whole 

week, 
durer,  (to)  last. 

eau,  /.,  water, 
eblouissant-e,  dazzling, 
eborgner,   (to)  put  out  (a  per- 


son''s)  eye ;  eborgner  des 
arbres,  (to)  cut  off  the 
superfluous  buds  or  shoots. 

ebouriffe,  in  disorder;  deux 
galopins  ebouriffe  s,  two 
shock-headed  urchins. 

ecaille,  /.,  tortoise  shell,  scale. 

echelle,  /.,  ladder. 

echelon,  ra.,  rung. 

eclairer,  (to)  light  up ;  s'eclairer, 
(to)  light  up. 

eclore,  (to)  be  hatched,  hatch, 
open. 

ecole,  /.,  school. 

ecolier,  ra.,  school  boy,  scholar; 
une  baignade  d'ecoliers,  a 
bath  with  the  boys. 

ecorcher,  (to)  flay,  fleece ;  tu 
as  suffisamment  ecorche  le 
pauvre  monde  que  les  epines 
te  le  rendent,  you  have 
fleeced  the  poor  long  enough, 
now  the  thorns  shall  fleece 
you. 

ecouter,  (to)  listen  (to). 

ecraser,  (to)  crush;  on  s'ecra- 
sait  les  pieds,  they  trod  on 
each  other's  feet. 

s' eerier,  (to)  cry  (out) ;  la  voix 
de  son  ancien  maitre  s'ecrier, 
his  old  master's  voice  crying. 

ecu,  m.,  crown. 

effet,  ra.,  effect ;  en  effet,  in 
fact. 

egratigner,  (to)  scratch. 

egrener,  (to)  tell  (one's  beads) ; 
en  egrenant  des  Pater  et  des 


112 


VOCABULARY 


Ave,  by  reciting  Paters  and 
Aves. 

eh,  inter -j.;  eh  bien,  well,  very 
well  then !  eh  quoi  !  what 
then! 

elevage,  m.,  breeding. 

elle,  she,  her;  pour  elle,  for 
her  sake. 

embrasser,  (to)  kiss,  embrace, 
hug. 

emotion,  /.,  emotion. 

empecher,  (to)  prevent. 

employer,  (to)  use. 

emporter,  (t  )  carry  off. 

emu,  p.  p.  of  emouvoir,  touched  ; 
la  voix  emue,  in  a  feeling  voice. 

en,  adu.  and  pron.,  of  it,  it 
(often  not  translated) ;  tu  vas 
t'en  aller  .  .  .,  you  must  go 
and  .  .  . ;  il  en  fut  de  meme, 
the  same  thing  happened ;  je 
saurai  bien  m'en  passer,  I 
can  quite  well  do  without 
them;  j'en  ai  encore  les 
doigts  picotes,  the  pricks  are 
still  on  my  fingers  from  it , 
nous  avons  des  tyrans  parce 
( ue  nous  en  sommes,  we 
have  tyrants  because  we  are 
tyrants. 

en,  prep.,  to,  at,  by,  into,  on; 
made  of  (sometimes  not  lo  be 
translated) ;  en  chemin,  on 
the  way ;  en  meme  temps, 
at  the  same  time :  en  tout 
cas,  at  all  events ;  en  maniere 
de,  by  way  of. 


encore,  again,  yet,  still  (some- 
times not  translated) ;  encore 
un  petit  air,  one  more  little 
tune;  tarte  encore,  another 
tart. 

endroit,  m.,  place,  spot;  a 
Tendroit  de,  with  respect  to. 

enfant,  m.  and  /.,  child ;  d'en- 
fant,  childish. 

enfantin-e,  childish,  girlish. 

enfariner,  (to)  beflour,  sprinkle 
with  flour;  s'enfariner  de, 
(to)  beflour  oneself  with. 

enfermer,  (to)  shut  up;  ces 
enfermes,  these  prisoners. 

enfin,  at  length,  at  last. 

enivrer,  (to)  intoxicate ;  s'eniv- 
rer,  (to)  become  intoxicated. 

ennuyer,  (to)  annoy,  bore. 

ensuite,  then. 

entendre,  (to)  hear,  listen  to; 
on  entendait  du  bruit,  a 
noise  was  heard;  qui  force 
a  danser  tous  ceux  qui  T en- 
tend  ent,  which  will  force 
anybody  who  hears  it  to 
dance ;  et  s'entendre  dire, 
and  to  hear  some  one  say  to 
you. 

entourer,  (to)  surround. 

entrain,  m.,  spirits,  high  spirits ; 
plus  il  y  mettait  d' entrain, 
the  more  vigorously  he  did  it. 

entre,  between. 

s'entre-choquer,  (to)  knock 
against  each  other,  come 
into  collision. 


VOCABULARY 


113 


entrer,  (to)  go  in  (to) ;  qui  est 
entre  dans  Biquette,  that 
went  into  Biquette ;  tous 
entraient  en  danse,  all  joined 
the  dance. 

s'entre-regarder,  (to)  look  at 
one  another. 

entrevoir,  (to)  perceive,  catch 
sight  of. 

entrevoyait,  imperfect  of  entre- 
voir. 

envie,  /.,  envy ;  avoir  envie  de, 
(to)  feel  inclined  to. 

envoyer,  (to)  send;  envoyer 
chercher,  (to)  send  for. 

epais-se,  thick. 

epine,  /.,  thorn. 

equipage,  ra.,  carriage,  cart. 

es,  pres.  ind.  of  etre. 

espalier,  ra.,  wall  fruit  tree. 

esperer,  (to)  hope  (for). 

esprit,  ra.,  disposition,  turn  of 
mind ;  simple  d' esprit,  simple 
minded. 

essayer,  (to)  try. 

est,  pres.  ind.  of  etre,  is  (some- 
times translated  was) ;  est  a, 
belongs  to ;  il  est,  there  are. 

et,  and. 

etagere, /.,  shelves  (pi.). 

etait,  imperfect  of  etre,  was. 

etaient,  imperfect  of  etre,  were 
(with  reflexive  verbs  translate 
had). 

etant,  pres.  part,  of  etre. 

ete,  ra.,  summer  ;  un  jour  d'ete, 
a  summer  day. 


ete,  p.  p.  of  etre. 

eteindre,  (to)  put  out. 

etes,  pres.  ind.  of  etre. 

etions,  imperfect  of  etre. 

etourdir,  (to)  stun ;  tout  etourdi 
deja  par  un  bon  dejeuner, 
dizzy  as  he  already  was  after 
a  good  lunch. 

etrange,  strange. 

etre,  (to)  be, 

etroit-e,  narrow. 

eut,  pret.  of  avoir. 

eut,  imperfect  subjunctive  of 
avoir,  had,  would  have  ;  pour 
qu'elle  eut  le  temps,  for  her 
to  have  the  time;  sans  at- 
tendre  que  le  vert  eut  pousse 
aux  muriers,  without  waiting 
for  the  green  to  have  come 
out  on  the  mulberry  trees. 

eux,  them. 

eux-memes,  themselves ;  les 
chiens  eux-memes,  the  very 
dogs. 

eveiller,  (to)  awake,  rouse. 

evoquer,  (to)  call  up,  evoke. 

s'exalter,  (to)  become  very  ex- 
cited. 

excellent-e,  excellent. 

exister,  (to)  exist. 

experience,  /.,  experience. 

expier,  (to)  atone  for,  expiate. 

expliquer,  (to)  explain;  s'ex- 
pliquer,  (to)  explain  matters. 

exquis-e,  exquisite. 

exterminer,  (to)  exterminate ; 
voila  pourtant  deux  mois  que 


114 


VOCABULARY 


nous  nous  exterminions,  yet 
we  had  been  wearing  our- 
selves out  for  two  months. 

extraordinaire,  extraordinary. 

extreme,  excessive,  extreme. 

extremite,  /.,  extremity;  a 
toute  extremite,  dying. 

face,  /.,  front;  qui  s'en  venait 
en  face  de  lui,  who  was  com- 
ing towards  him. 

fache,  sorry. 

facher,  (to)  make  angry;  se 
facher,  (to)  be  or  get  angry. 

facon,  /.,  way ;  1'eau  faisait  des 
facons  pour  bouillir,  the  water 
made  difficulties  about  boil- 
ing. 

faible,  weak,  feeble. 

faim,  /.,  hunger. 

faire,  (to)  do,  manage,  make; 
se  faire,  (to)  become,  get; 
faire  une  faveur,  (to)  grant 
a  favor;  faire  un  bout  de 
sieste,  (to)  take  a  little  nap ; 
faire  part  de  quelque  chose 
a  quelqu'un,  (to)  acquaint 
somebody  with  something ; 
d'aller  faire  un  tour,  of 
going  for  a  turn;  faire  une 
conference,  (to)  give  a  lec- 
ture ;  faire  place  a,  (to) 
make  room  for. 

fais,  pres.  ind.  and  imperative  of 
faire. 

faisait,  imperfect  of  faire ;  1'eau 
faisait  des  facons  pour 


bouillir,  the  water  made 
difficulties  about  boiling. 

faisant,  pres.  part,  of  faire ;  le 
beurre  helas  !  faisant  defaut, 
there  being  alas !  a  lack  of 
butter;  faisant  ma  partie, 
singing  my  part;  faisant 
cuire,  cooking. 

fait,  pres.  ind.  of  faire. 

fait,  p.  p.  of  faire ;  reflexion 
faite^  all  things  considered; 
ayant  fait  quelques  pas,  hav- 
ing gone  a  few  steps;  leur 
mariage  s'etait  fait,  their  mar- 
riage had  taken  place. 

fallait,  imperfect  of  falloir;  il 
fallait  la  manger^  I  had  to 
eat  it,  it  had  to  be  eaten; 
il  fallait  tourner,  you  should 
have  turned ;  il  fallait  prendre 
une  decision,  a  decision  had 
to  be  made. 

falloir,  (to)  be  necessary,  have 
to. 

fallu,  p.  p.  of  falloir;  depuis 
qu'il  a  fallu  s'abonner,  since 
we  have  had  to  subscribe; 
il  nous  a  fallu,  we  had  (to). 

fameu-x,  -se,  famous. 

familiarite,  /.,  familiarity. 

faner,  (to)  fade ;  les  meubles 
fanes  peu  a  peu,  the  furniture 
which  had  faded  little  by 
little. 

faudra,  future  of  falloir; 
qu'alors  il  faudra  prendre, 
which  you  must  take  then. 


VOCABULARY 


115 


faudrait,  cond.  of  falloir ;   il  me 

faudrait  une  guitare,  I  must 

have  a  guitar, 
faussement,  falsely. 
faut,    pres.    ind.    of  falloir;     il 

faut  bien  mourir,  people  must 

die;    que  me  faut-il  de  plus, 

what  else  do  I  need;   il  faut 

croire,  I  suppose. 
fauteuil,  ra.,  armchair, 
faveur,  /.,  bit  of  ribbon;   faire 

des  faveurs,  (to)  grant  favors. 
fee,  /.,  fairy;    contes  de  fees 

fairy  tales. 
femme,     /.,     wife,      (married) 

woman. 
fer,  ra.,  iron. 
f erai,  future  of  faire ;   je  ne  me 

ferai  plus  griffer  par  le  minet, 

I  won't  let  the  cat  scratch  me 

again. 

fermier,  ra.,  farmer, 
feu,  ra.,  fire, 
feuille,  /.,  leaf, 
f  euillete-e :    la  glace  f euilletee 

en  vitres,  the  thin  layers  of 

ice. 

fidelement,  faithfully. 
fier,  (to)  trust,  confide  in ;   s'en 

fier  a,  (to)  trust  to,  rely  on, 

depend  on. 
fievre,  /.,  fever, 
figure,  /.,  face. 
£1,  ra.,  thread, 
filer,    (to)    spin ;     en   train   de 

filer,  who  was  spinning. 
fileuse,  /.,  spinner. 


fille,  f.,  girl. 

fin-e,  fine 

fin,  f.,  end. 

finir,  (to)  finish ;  c.a  ne  va  done 
plus  finir,  will  they  never  be 
done. 

firent,  pret.  of  faire. 

fit,  pret.  of  faire,  did,  made, 
said;  meme  il  n'en  fit 
qu'une  bouchee,  he  even 
swallowed  her  at  a  single 
mouthful;  se  fit  rendre  la 
sarbacane,  got  back  the  pea- 
shooter; fit  voir,  showed; 
fit  reculer,  moved  back. 

flacon,  ra.,  bottle. 

flagrant-e,  flagrant ;  en  flagrant 
delit,  in  the  very  act. 

flamme,  /.,  flame. 

fleur,  /.,  flower;  en  fleur,  in 
flower,  flowering. 

fleuri-e,  decked  with  flowers. 

Florian,  French  writer  of  the 
eighteenth  century. 

flot,  ra.,  flood,  torrent,  wave, 
billow. 

flute,  /.,  .flute. 

foi,  /.,  faith. 

foin,  ra.,  hay. 

foire,  /.,  fair. 

fois,  /.,  time ;  une  fois,  once. 

foisonner,  (to)  swarm ;  qui 
foisonnait  d'herbes  folles, 
which  had  abundance  of 
weeds. 

fond,  ra.,  bottom,  background, 
ground;  pauvres  au  fond, 


116 


VOCABULARY 


although  they  were  in  the 
main  poor. 

fonte,  /.,  cast-iron,  iron. 

force,  /.,  force,  power,  strength  ; 
dans  toute  la  force  du  terme 
des  personnes  de  1'ancien 
temps,  thoroughly  old-fash- 
ioned people. 

forcer,  (to)  force,  oblige;  qui 
force  a  danser  tous  ceux  qui 
Tentendent,  which  will  force 
anybody  who  hears  it  to 
dance. 

forfaiture,  /.,  forfeiture;  en 
pleine  forfaiture,  in  the  very 
midst  of  her  crime. 

forme,  /.,  shape. 

former,  (to)  form,  frame. 

fort,  adv.,  very. 

fort-e,  adj.,  strong. 

fort,  m.,  fort. 

fortune,  /.,  fortune ;  la  fortune, 
a  fortune. 

fosse,  m.y  ditch. 

fou,  folle,  mad;  herbes  folles, 
weeds. 

fouet,  m.,  whip ;  coup  de  fouet, 
lash. 

foule,  /.,  crowd. 

fourre,  m.,  tnicket. 

fourrer,  (to)  poke,  stick. 

fraicheur,  /.,  freshness. 

frais,  fraiche,  fresh,  cool,  bloom- 
ing ;  du  pain  frais,  new  bread  ; 
au  frais,  in  the  cool. 

franc,  franc-he,  frank ;  moineau 
franc,  house-sparrow. 


frapper,  (to)  knock. 

frayer,  (to)  open ;  se  frayer  un 
passage,  (to)  make  one's  way, 
break  through. 

frayeur,  /.,  fright;  j'avais  une 
frayeur  mortelle,  I  was  in  a 
mortal  fright. 

frene,  m.,  ash  tree. 

friand-e,  fond  (of),  partial  (to). 

friandise,  /.  (generally  plural  in 
English),  sweets,  delicacies, 
dainties. 

froisser,  (to)  offend. 

front,  m.,  forehead;  le  front 
bleme,  with  a  pale  face. 

fruit,  m.,  fruit. 

fuite,  /.,  flight. 

fumee,  /.,  smoke. 

fumigation,  /.,  fumigation. 

furieu-x,  -se,  furious. 

fussiez,  subj.  of  etre. 

fut,  pret.  of  etre;  il  en  fut  de 
meme,  the  same  thing  hap- 
pened; ce  qui  fut  long, 
which  took  a  long  time. 

fut,  subj.  of  etre;  il  vaudrait 
peut-etre  mieux  que  ce  fut 
toi,  perhaps  it  had  better  be 
you. 

gages,  m.  pi.,  wages. 

gagner,  (to)  earn. 

gai-e,  gay. 

gaiment,  gaily. 

gaite,  /.,    gayety;     avec   gaite 

gayly. 
galette,  /.,  cake. 


VOCABULARY 


117 


galop,  m.,  gallop;  Teau  prend 
le  galop,  the  water  is  begin- 

,     ning  to  gallop. 

galopin,  m.j  urchin. 

gamin-e,  m.  and/.,  child. 

garantir,  (to)  warrant;  je 
garantis  de  les  reussir,  I 
warrant  I'll  do  them  well. 

gar  con,  m.,  boy. 

garder,  (to)  keep. 

gauche,  adj.,  left. 

gauche,  /.,  left;  a  gauche,  on 
or  to  the  left. 

gavotte,  /.,  gavotte. 

gener,  (to)  hinder;  il  parait 
que  les  soucis  ne  te  genent 
pas  toi,  you  don't  seem  to  be 
troubled  with  cares;  gene, 
uncomfortable,  uneasy. 

gener eu-x,  -se,  generous. 

genet,  m.,  broom  (often  put  in 
the  plural  in  French). 

genou,  m.,  knee  ;  je  me  mettais 
a  deux  genoux  devant  une 
tarte  a  la  creme,  I  was  ready 
to  go  on  my  knees  before  a 
cream  tart. 

gens,  m.  andf.  pi.,  people,  folks. 

gentil-le,  pretty,  nice. 

geste,  m.,  action;  le  regard  qui 
a  1'air  de  se  moquer  du  geste, 
a  look  which  seems  a  mock- 
ery of  the  bow. 

glace,  /.,  looking-glass,  mirror, 
ice. 

glisser,  (to)  slip  (in). 

glousser,  (to)  cluck. 


gonfler,  (to)  swell,  innate,  dis- 
tend. 

gourmandise,  /.,  greediness. 
gout,  m.,  taste. 
gouter,   (to)  taste;    de  gouter, 

from  tasting. 
grace,  /.,  favor,  grace  ;  grace  a, 

thanks  to,  owing  to. 
grain,  m.,  grain, 
graine,  /.,  seed,  eggs, 
grand-e,  large,  big,  great;  huit 

grands    jours,     eight    whole 

days,  a  whole  week, 
grand 'mere,  grandmother. 
Grand  Place,  the  central  square 

in  a  city. 

grand'route,  /.,  high  road, 
grand 'tante,  /.,  great-aunt, 
gras-se,  fat. 

greffe,  /.,  graft,  grafting, 
greffier,  m.,  clerk, 
grenier,  m.,  attic. 
griffer,  (to)  scratch, 
grille,/.,  bars  (pi.),  grating. 
grillon,  m.,  cricket  (insect). 
grimper,  (to)  climb, 
grincer,  (to)  creak, 
gris-e,  grey, 
grive,  /.,  thrush, 
gronder,  (to)  scold ;  qui  gronde, 

scolding, 
gros,  grosse,  big. 
guetter,  (to)  watch,  lie  in  wait 

for. 

guetres,  /.  pi.,  gaiters. 
gueux,  m.,  beggar,  ragamuffin, 

scoundrel. 


118 


VOCABULARY 


guider,  (to)  guide, 
guilleret-te,  merry, 
guitare,/.,  guitar. 

habit,  m.j  coat,  clothes  (pL). 

habiter,  (to)  live. 

habitude, /.,  habit;  d'habitude, 
generally,  usually ;  vous 
n'etes  pas  comme  d'habi- 
tude, you  are  not  as  usual; 
plus  attendrie  qu'atson  habi- 
tude, more  tender  than  usual. 

haletant-e,  gasping,  panting. 

hangar,  m.,  shed,  outhouse. 

hasard,  m.,  chance ;  par  hasard, 
accidentally,  as  it  chanced. 

haut-e,  high,  tall;  de  plus  en 
plus  haut,  higher  and  higher. 

helas  !  excl.,  alas  ! 

herbe,  /.,  grass ;  herbes  folles, 
weeds. 

heritage,  m.,  legacy. 

heure,  /.,  hour,  time;  sept 
heures,  seven  o'clock. 

heureusement,  fortunately. 

heureu-x,  -se,  happy. 

hirondelle,  /.,  swallow. 

histoire,/.,  story,  tale ;  tou jours 
dans  tes  histoires,  (you  are) 
always  fussing. 

hiver,  m.,  winter. 

hochequeue,  m.,  wag-tail. 

homme,  m.,  man. 

honteu-x,  -se,  ashamed. 

horrible,  horrible. 

huche,  /.,  hutch,  bin. 

huile,  /.,  oil. 


humeur,  /.,  temper, 
hurler,  (to)  howl. 
hussard,  m.,  hussar. 

idee,  /.,  idea. 

il,  he,  it,  there ;  il  y  avait,  there 
was;  il  n'y  a  qu'a  tirer  la 
chevillette,  you  need  only 
pull  the  string;  il  nous  a 
fallu,  we  had  (to) ;  il  y  a 
cinquante  ans,  fifty  years  ago. 

imaginer,  (to)  imagine,  desire. 

immediatement,  immediately. 

immobile,  motionless. 

impossible,  impossible. 

indici  le,  unutterable,  unspeak- 
able. 

indienne,  /.,  printed  calico, 
print,  muslin. 

indigner,  (to)  shock ;  s'indigner, 
(to)  become  indignant. 

indiquer,  (to)  show,  point  out. 

indulgence,/.,  indulgence;  avec 
ces  indulgences-la,  by  indul- 
gence of  that  kind. 

ingrat-e,  ungrateful,  thankless. 

installer,  (to)  settle ;  s 'installer, 
(to)  install  oneself. 

instant,  m.,  moment,  instant. 

instinct,  m.,  instinct. 

interet,  m.,  interest ;  les  in- 
terets,  the  interest. 

intime,  intimate,  inmost,  deep. 

invisible,  invisible. 

invoquer,  (to)  call  upon. 

irai,  future  of  aller. 

irez,  future  of  aller. 


VOCABULARY 


119 


irradier,   (to)  radiate;    irradies 

de,  aureoled  with, 
ivre,  drunk,  intoxicated. 

jadis,  formerly. 

jamais,  never;  a  jamais,  for 
ever. 

jambe,  /.,  leg;  le  loup  prit  ses 
jambes  a  son  cou,  the  wolf 
took  to  his  heels;  leverent 
la  jambe,  raised  their  legs. 

jardin,  m.,  garden. 

jas,  m.,  Provencal  word  for 
farm. 

je,  I ;  j'en  ai  encore  les  doigts 
picotes,  the  pricks  are  still  on 
my  fingers  from  it. 

jeter,  (to)  throw. 

jeu,  m.,  game ;   au  jeu,  at  play. 

jeudi,  m.,  Thursday. 

jeune,  young;  jeune  fille,  (un- 
married) girl. 

joie,  /.,  joy. 

joli-e,  pretty. 

joue,  /.,  cheek;  jusqu'a  ce 
qu'elle  ait  les  joues  plus 
rouges  que  son  chapeau, 
until  her  cheeks  were  redder 
than  her  hood. 

jouer,  (to)  play ;  jouer  de,  (to) 
play  (an  instrument) ;  con- 
tinuait  a  jouer,  went  on  play- 
ing; cessant  de  jouer,  stop- 
ping playing ;  voila  bien  la 
premiere  fois  que  "  Plaisir 
d'amour  "  me  joue  ce  tour-la, 
it  is  certainly  the  first  time 


"  Plaisir  d'amour  "  has 
played  me  that  trick. 

jour,  m.,  day;  les  jours  dis- 
parus,  past  times. 

journee,  /.,  day. 

joyeu-x,  -se,  joyous. 

juge,  m.,  judge. 

juger,  (to)  try. 

jusqu'a,  up  to,  to ;  jusqu'a  ce 
que,  until. 

juste,  just ;  notre  cure  n'etait 
patient  que  tout  juste,  our 
priest's  ^patience  wTas  only 
just  worthy  of  the  name. 

justesse,  /.,  justness,  accuracy. 

justice,  /.,  court  of  justice ;  ce 
qui  me  revient  en  toute  jus- 
tice, what  is  justly  due  to  me. 

1',  see  le  and  la. 

la,  def.  art.,  /.,  the  (or  not  to  be 
•     translated;  or  sometimes  trans- 
lated by  a  or  by  the  pronouns 
his,  her,  their,  etc.). 

there;  la-bas,  over  there; 
laissant  la  son  patient,  leav- 
ing his  patient  (alone) ;  la- 
dessus,  thereupon. 

la,  pers.  pron.,  /.,  her,  it ;  met 
la  main,  put  his  (my,  your. 
etc.)  hand. 

lache,  cowardly. 

laisser,  (to)  leave,  let,  allow; 
ils  laisserent  croire,  they  let 
it  be  thought. 

lait,  m..  milk. 

laiteu-x,  -se,  milky. 


120 


VOCABULARY 


lambeau,  m.,  bit,  piece. 

lanterner,  (to)  put  off ;  peut-on 
se  laisser  lanterner  ainsi, 
you  can't  allow  yourself  to 
be  put  off  like  that. 

laquelle,  /.,  which,  what. 

lard,  m.,  bacon. 

lavande,  /.,  lavender. 

le,  def.  art.,  m.,  the  (sometimes 
not  translated  or  sometimes  by 
a  or  by  the  pronouns  his,  her, 
their,  etc.) ;  le  dimanche,  on 
Sunday;  le  soir,  in  the 
evening;  Tete,  in  summer; 
1'hiver,  in  winter;  le  matin, 
in  the  morning. 

le,  pers.  pron.,  m.,  him,  it,  that. 

legende,  /.,  legend. 

legerement,  lightly,  slightly. 

lendemain,  m.,  next  day;  le 
lendemain  de  ce  jour,  the 
day  after  this  one. 

lentement,  slowly. 

les,  def.  art.,  pi.,  the  (sometimes 
not  translated  and  sometimes 
translated  by  the  pronouns 
his,  her,  their,  etc.). 

les,  pers.  pron.,  pi.,  them. 

leste,  nimble,  light,  clever. 

lettre,/.,  letter. 

leur,  poss.  adj.,  their. 

leur,  pers.  pron.,  them,  to 
(from,  for,  at,  on)  them. 

lever,  (to)  raise,  lift  up;  leve, 
up. 

Hard,  m.,  an  old  coin,  worth  a 
quarter  of  a  cent. 


liberte,  /.,  freedom. 

Her,  (to)  bind,  tie  up. 

lieu,  m.,  place;  au  lieu  de, 
instead  of. 

lire,  (to)  read. 

lisait,  imperfect  of  lire. 

lit,  m.,  bed. 

Htiere,  /.,  litter,  straw. 

Hvre,  m.,  book. 

livre,  /.,  pound. 

loi,  /.,  law;  contraire  aux  lois, 
unlawfully. 

loin,  far;  plus  loin,  further, 
farther. 

Ton,  people,  you,  we. 

long,  long-ue,  long ;  au  long  de, 
le  long  de,  by  the  side  of, 
along ;  ce  qui  fut  long,  which 
took  a  long  time. 

longtemps,  (a)  long  (time). 

lorsque,  when. 

loup,  m.,  wolf. 

lourd-e,  heavy. 

lourdement,  heavily. 

lui,  him,  her,  to  him  or  her 
(sometimes  not  to  be  trans- 
lated) ;  aller  lui  mettre  un 
grain  de  sel  sur  la  queue, 
(to)'  go  and  put  a  grain  of 
salt  on  his  tail. 

lui-meme,  himself,  he,  itself. 

luire,  (to)  shine ;  quand  luira 
le  jour,  when  the  day  shines. 

luisaient,  imperfect  of  luire. 

lumiere,  /.,  light. 

lunettes,  /.  pi.,  spectacles. 

Lure,  small  chain  of  mountains 


VOCABULARY 


121 


in  the  southeast  of  France,  a 
continuation  of  Mount  Ven- 
toux. 

luth,  m.j  lute. 

lychnis,  m.,  campion. 

lyre,  /.,  lyre. 

m',  see  me. 

ma,  my. 

magique,  magic,  magical. 

magistral;,  m.,  magistrate. 

magnanerie,  /.,  silk- worm  nurs- 
ery. 

maigre,  thin. 

main,  /.,  hand ;  mains  de  cure, 
priest's  hands. 

maint-e,  many  a. 

maintenant,  now. 

mais,  but. 

maison,  /.,  house. 

maisonette,  /.,  little  house. 

maitre,  master. 

maitresse,  /.,  mistress;  la 
maitresse  poutre,  the  prin- 
cipal beam,  center  beam. 

mal,  badly ;  tant  bien  que  mal, 
as  well  as  we  (they)  could. 

malade,  ill. 

malade,  m.  and  /.,  sick  person, 
patient. 

malheur,  m.,  misfortune ;  mu- 
sicien  de  malheur,  con- 
founded musician. 

malheureu-x,  -se,  unhappy, 
unfortunate,  wretched  man 
(woman) . 

maiin,     knowing,     sharp ;      un 


malin,  a  sharp  one;  Fceil 
malin,  with  a  knowing  look. 

maman,  /.,  mama,  mother. 

manche,  /.,  sleeve. 

mangea,  pret.  of  manger. 

manger,  (to)  eat ;  avait  fini  de 
manger,  had  finished  eating. 

maniere,  /.,  way,  manner. 

manque,  m.,  want,  lack. 

manquer,  (to)  miss,  fail. 

marche,  m.,  market. 

marcher,  (to)  go ;  tout  mar- 
chait  bien,  all  was  going  well. 

mari,  m.,  husband. 

mariage,  m.,  marriage. 

marjolaine,  /.,  marjoram. 

marmite,  /.,  pot. 

marquis,  m.,  marquis. 

Martin,  Saint,  Bishop  of  Tours, 
in  the  fifth  century. 

masure,  /.,  dilapitated  house. 

matin,  m.,  morning. 

mauvais-e,  adj.,  bad,  wicked. 

me,  me,  myself,  to  (for,  at, 
from)  me,  to  (for,  at,  from) 
myself. 

mechant-e,  cruel,  wicked,  bad, 
nasty. 

mecreant,  m.,  disbeliever,  un- 
believer. 

melancholic,  /.,  melancholy. 

meler,  (to)  mix;  sans  qu'on 
s'en  melat,  without  our  inter- 
fering. 

meme,  adj  and  adv.,  even, 
same ;  de  meme,  in  the  same 
way. 


122 


VOCABULARY 


menetrier,  m.,  fiddler. 

mensonge,  m.,  lie;  il  convain- 
quit  de  mensong-e  le  fermier 
avare,  he  convicted  the  mi- 
serly farmer  of  lying. 

merci,  ra.,  mercy,  pity;  sans 
merci,  merciless,  pitiless. 

mere,  /.,  mother. 

mere-grand,  /.,  grandmother. 

merite,  ra.,  merit ;  tes  merites, 
your  deserts. 

meriter,  (to)  deserve. 

merle,  ra.,  blackbird. 

merveilleu-x,  -se,  marvelous. 

messe,  /.,  mass. 

mesure,  /.,  time  (in  music) ; 
ralentissait  par  trop  la  me- 
sure, was  playing  rather  too 
slowly. 

mesurer,  (to)  measure,  calcu- 
late. 

methode,  /.,  method. 

mettre,  (to)  put  (on) ;  se 
mettre  en  route,  (to)  start ; 
mettre  a  la  raison,  (to)  bring 
to  his  (her,  etc.)  senses ;  plus 
il  y  mettait  d' entrain,  the 
more  vigorously  he  did  it; 
en  me  mettant  au  lit,  as  I 
went  to  bed ;  qu'on  me  mette 
au  pain  sec,  let  me  be  put 
on  dry  bread;  on  vous  y 
mettra  certes,  you  shall  most 
certainly  be. 

meuble;  ra.,  piece  of  furniture; 
meubles,  furniture. 

meure,  pres.  subj.  of  mourir. 


mi-cote :  a  mi-cote,  halfway 
up  the  hill. 

midi,  ra.,  midday,  noon. 

mi  el,  ra.,  honey. 

mieux,  better,  best ;  c'est  pour 
mieux  te  voir,  the  better  to 
see  you  with;  c'est  pour 
mieux  te  serrer,  the  better 
to  hug  you  with;  c'est  pour 
mieux  f  entendre,  the  better 
to  hear  you  with. 

mignon~ne,  pretty,  delicate, 
tiny,  darling. 

milieu,  ra.,  middle. 

mille,  a  thousand. 

mince,  thin,  slim. 

minet,  ra.,  puss,  pussy. 

minute,  /.,  minute. 

miracle,  m.,  miracle. 

mirent,  pret.  of  mettre;  se 
mirent  a,  began  to. 

mis-e,  p.  p.  of  mettre. 

miserable,  miserable ;  un  vieux 
petit  homme  d'aspect  mise- 
rable, a  miserable-looking, 
little  old  man. 

miser e,  /.,  misery,  poverty; 
dans  la  misere,  destitute; 
avait  un  tel  air  de  misere, 
looked  so  miserable. 

mit,  pret.  of  mettre;  se  mit  a 
quatre  pattes,  went  on  all 
fours ;  se  mit  a,  began  to ; 
mit  pied  a  terre,  alighted. 

modere,  moderate. 

modeste,  modest,  moderate. 

moi,  I,  me  (sometimes  only  used 


VOCABULARY 


123 


for  emphasis,  not  to  be  trans- 
lated). 

moineau,  m.,  sparrow;  moineau 
franc,  house-sparrow. 

moins,  less;  au  moins,  du 
moins,  at  least,  at  any  rate. 

mois,  m.,  month. 

moitie,  /.,  half. 

mollet,  m.,  calf  (of  the  leg) ; 
oeufs  mollets,  boiled  eggs 
(which  are  neither  soft  nor  hard 
but  between  the  two). 

moment,  m.,  moment,  time ,  a 
ce  moment-la,  just  t\en,  au 
moment  ou,  just  when. 

mon,  my. 

monde,  m.,  world;  le  pauvre 
monde,  the  poor;  tout  le 
monde,  everybody. 

monnaie,  /.,  coin,  money. 

monsieur,  sir  (often  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  sentence  in 
French,  when  we  should  put 
Sir  in  the  middle  or  at  the 
end) ;  Monsieur  le  juge,  My 
Lord. 

montagne,  /.,  mountain,  moun- 
tains. 

montee,  /.,  ascent;  a  mi- 
montee,  halfway  up. 

monter,  (to)  get  up,  go  up, 
mount;  se  monter,  (to) 
amount. 

montrer,  (to)  show. 

se  moquer  (de),  (to)  laugh  at; 
le  regard  qui  a  Tair  de  se 
moquer  du  geste,  a  look 


which  seems   a  mockery  oi 

the  bow. 
mordre,  (to)  bite, 
mortel-le,  mortal. 
mot,  m.,  word;    je  te  prends 

au  mot,  I'll  take  your  word 

for  it. 

mouche,  m.,  fly. 
moucher,  (to)  blow  the  nose  of ; 

se  moucher   (de),   (to)  blow 

one's  nose  (with). 
mouchoir,  m.,  handkerchief. 
moudre,  (to)  grind, 
mouiller,  (to)  wet. 
moulu,  p.  p.  of  moudre,  bruised 

all  over. 

mourir,  (to)  die,  be  dying, 
mourut,  pret.  of  mourir. 
mousse,  /.,  moss. 
mousseu-x,  -se,  sparkling, 
multiplier,  (to)  multiply, 
munir  (de),  (to)  provide  (with). 
mur,  m.,  wall, 
mur-e,  ripe. 

murier,  m.,  mulberry  tree, 
musette,  /.,  pipe,  bagpipe, 
musicien,  m.,  musician;  mu- 

sicien      de     malheur,     con- 
founded musician, 
musicien-ne,    musical;     je   ne 

vous  savais  pas  musicien,  I 

did     not     know    you     were 

musical. 

musique,  /.,  music, 
myrte,  m.,  myrtle, 
mysterieu-x,  -se,  mysterious, 

obscure. 


124 


VOCABULARY 


n',  see  ne. 

nageur,  m.,  swimmer. 

naif,  naive,  simple,  artless, 
naive. 

nain,  m.,  dwarf. 

naissent,  pres.  ind.  of  naitre. 

naitre,  (to)  be  born. 

naivete,  /.,  artlessness. 

nappe,  /.,  cloth. 

navrer,  (to)  grieve  most  deeply ; 
le  cceur  navre,  almost  heart- 
broken. 

ne,  neg.  particle  used  mostly 
with  pas,  personne,  jamais, 
etc.,  not ;  n'avait  pas  de  nom, 
had  no  name. 

necessaire,  necessary. 

n'est-cepas?  isn't  it?  mustn't 
they?  is  it  not  so? 

net,  adv.,  right  off,  at  once. 

neuf,  neuve,  new. 

nez,  m. ,  nose. 

ni  .  .  .  ni,  neither  .  .  .  nor; 
ni  le  chou  non  plus,  neither 
had  the  cabbage ;  ils  ne 
parlerent  ni  Tun  ni  1'autre, 
they  neither  of  them  spoke. 

noeud,  m.,  knot;  des  noeuds 
de  frene,  knots  in  ash 
wood. 

noir,  black;  dans  le  cabinet 
noir,  in  the  dark. 

nom,  m.,  name. 

nommer,  (to)  name,  call. 

non,  no ;  ni  le  chou  non  plus, 
neither  had  the  cabbage. 

nos,  our. 


notre,  our  (sometimes  translated 

the). 
nourrir,    (to)    nourish,    cherish, 

foster. 

nourriture,  /.,  food. 
nous,    we,    us,    ourselves ;     il 

nous  a  fallu,  we  had  (to). 
nouveau,    nouvelle,    new;     de 

nouveau,  again. 
nuance,  /.,  shade, 
nuee,  /.,  cloud, 
nuit,  /.,  night. 

obeir  (a),  (to)  obey. 

obeissait  (a),  imperfect  of  obeir. 

obliger,  (to)  oblige,  force. 

obscur-e,  obscure. 

obtenir,  (to)  obtain. 

occasion,  /.,  occasion. 

ceil,  m.,  eye. 

ceuf,  m.,  egg. 

officier,  m.,  officer. 

offrir  (a),  (to)  offer,  give; 
Seigneur,  je  vous  1'offre, 
for  Thy  sake,  Lord. 

oiseau,  m.,  bird. 

oiselet,  m.,  little  bird. 

ombre,  /.,  shade,  dark. 

on,  people,  they,  some  one,  we ; 
on  entendit  du  bruit,  a  noise 
was  heard;  on  pay  ait  ma! 
ses  services,  he  was  beinf; 
badly  paid  for  his  services: 
il  faut  croire  qu'on  se  fait 
vieille,  I  suppose  I  am  getting 
old ;  peut-on  se  laisser  lan- 
tern er  ainsi  !  you  can't  allow 


VOCABULARY 


125 


yourself  to  be  put  off  like 
that !  on  le  conduisait,  he 
was  being  taken;  on  rendit 
a  Jean,  Jean  was  given  back ; 
on  Tavait  depouille,  he  had 
been  stripped;  on  le  sus- 
pendit,  he  was  hung  up. 

once,  ra.,  ounce. 

oncle,  ra.,  uncle. 

ongle,  ra.,  nail. 

operation,  /.,  operation. 

or,  ra.,  gold ;  d'or,  golden. 

orage,  ra.,  storm. 

oreille,  /.,  ear. 

original-e,  original. 

orner,  (to)  decorate. 

oser,  (to)  dare ;  sans  trop  oser 
rien  dire,  without  much  dar- 
ing to  say  anything. 

oter,  (to)  take  away. 

ou,  or. 

oft,  where,  when,  in  which,  on 
which. 

oublier,  (to)  forget. 

ouvrage,  m.,  work. 

ouvrir,  (to)  open;  s'ouvrir, 
(to)  open. 

paien,  ra.,  pagan,  heathen. 

paille,  /.,  straw. 

pain,  ra.,  bread. 

panier,  ra.,  basket. 

papa,  ra.,  papa. 

par,  by,  in,  on,  through;  par 
suite  de,  owing  to ;  par  an, 
par  annee,  a  year ;  par 
hasard,  accidentally,  as  it 


chanced  ;  par  trop,  rather  too 

much, 
paraissaient,    imperfect  of  par- 

aitre. 

paraissait,  imperfect  of  paraitre. 
parait,  pres.  ind.  of  paraitre ;   il 

parait  que  les  soucis  ne  te 

genent   pas,    toi,    you    don't 

seem  to  be  troubled  with  cares. 
paraitre,  (to)  appear,  seem. 
parce  que,  because. 
pardonner,  (to)  forgive. 
pareil-le,  like,  similar. 
pareillement,    in   like   manner, 

likewise, 
parfumer,  (to)  perfume,  scent; 

parfume,  full  of  scent. 
parler,  (to)  speak,  talk. 
parmi,  among. 
part,  /.,  share ;   de  toutes  parts, 

on  all  sides;    a  part  soi,  to 

himself,   within  himself ;    de 

notre  part,  from  us;    a  part 

moi,  to  myself. 
parti,  ra.,  decision, 
particuli-er,  -ere,  peculiar  (to), 
partie,  /.,  part, 
partir,  (to)  go  off. 
partout,  everywhere, 
parut,  pret.  of  paraitre. 
pas,  negative  with  or  without  ne, 

not,  no ;  n'avait  pas  de  nom, 

had  no  name. 
pas,  m.,  step. 
passage,  ra.,  passage,  way;    se 

frayer  un  passage,  (to)  make 

one's  way,  break  through. 


126 


VOCABULARY 


passant,  m.,  passer-by. 

passe,    adj.,    past;     mes    huit 

printemps  passes  d'avril,  my 

eight  years  last  April, 
passe,  prep.,  beyond, 
passer,  (to)  pass,  go,  go  down, 

disappear;      se    passer    de, 

(to)  do  without. 
Pater,     m.,    name    for    Lord's 

Prayer  in  Latin. 
patient,  m.,  patient ;  notre  cure 

n'etait  patient  que  tout  juste, 

our  priest's  patience  was  only 

just  worthy  of  the  name. 
patissier,       m.,       confectioner, 

pastry-cook, 
patte,  /.,  paw,  foot,  leg;   se  mit 

a  quatre  pattes,  went  on  all 

fours. 

paturage,  m.,  pasture. 
pauvre,  poor ;  le  pauvre  monde, 

the  poor;    pauvres  au  fond, 

although   they   were    in   the 

main  poor. 
payer,  (to)  pay  (for). 
pays,  m.,  country,  countryside, 
paysan,  m.,  peasant;    des  pay- 

sans,  country  people, 
peche,  /.,  peach, 
peche,  m.,  sin. 
peine,  /.,  trouble,  difficulty, 
pelisse,  /.,  pelisse, 
pendant,    for;     pendant    que, 

while. 

pendre,  (to)  hang, 
penser,  (to)  think,  imagine, 
pente,  /.,  slope. 


percher,  (to)  perch. 

perdre,  (to)  lose. 

perdu,  p.  p.  of  perdre,  out  of 
the  way;  vous  vous  etes 
perdus?  have  you  lost  your 
way? 

permettait,  imperfect  of  per- 
mettre. 

permettez,  pres.  ind.  and  im- 
perative of  permettre;  ne  le 
permettez  pas,  don't  allow 
him  to. 

permettre,  (to)  allow. 

perse,  /.,  chintz. 

personne  (ne),  no  one,  not 
any  one. 

personne,  /.,  person. 

perte,  /.,  loss,  ruin. 

peser,  (to)  weigh. 

petit-e,  little,  small;  au  petit 
bonheur,  as  well  as  we  could ; 
au  petit  trot,  at  a  jog  trot. 

peu,  little ;  avant  peu,  in  a  short 
time;  peu  a  peu,  little  by 
little;  se  soucier  peu  de, 
not  (to)  care  much  about. 

peuple,  m.,  people,  nation. 

peuplier,  m.,  poplar. 

peur,  /.,  fear ;  j'avais  eu  peur, 
I  had  been  afraid. 

peut-etre,  perhaps. 

peux,  pres.  ind.  of  pouvoir,  can, 
may. 

philippique,  /.,  philippic  (dis- 
course full  of  invective) . 

picoter,  (to)  prick. 

pied,   m.,   foot;     sur   pied,   on 


VOCABULARY 


127 


one's    (my,   your,   etc.]   feet, 
up ;  mit  pied  a  terre,  alighted. 

pierraille,  /.,  pebbles,  broken 
stones. 

pincer,  (to)  pinch,  nip. 

pinson,  ra.,  finch,  chaffinch. 

pipe,  /.,  pipe. 

piquer,  (to)  prick;  pique  de 
mousses,  dotted  with  mosses. 

pis,  adv.,  worse ;  tant  pis,  so 
much  the  worse  (for  us),  it 
couldn't  be  helped. 

pitie,  /.,  pity;  c'etait  pitie",  it 
was  pitiful. 

place,  /.,  room,  place ;  sur 
place,  on  the  spot;  a  la 
place  de,  instead  of. 

plaignant,  pres.  part,  o/plaindre. 

plain-e,  level,  flat ;  s'ouvrant 
de  plain-pied  sur  un  jardin, 
opening  straight  on  to  a 
garden. 

plaindre,  (to)  pity ;  se  plaindre, 
(to)  complain. 

plaisanter,  (to)  joke,  chaff; 
Anselme  plaisante  amicale- 
ment,  Anselm  who  was 
chaffed  in  a  friendly  way. 

plaisir,  m.,  pleasure;  Plaisir 
d' amour,  is  the  name  of  a 
well-known  old  eighteenth-cen- 
tury song. 

planche,  /.,  shelf. 

plateau,  m.,  scale. 

plein-e,  full;  en  plein  Angelus 
de  midi,  right  in  the  middle 
of  the  day,  at  the  noon  An- 


gelus ;  en  plein e  forfaiture, 
in  the  very  midst  of  her 
crime. 

plus,  more,  most ;  ni  le  chou 
non  plus,  neither  had  the 
cabbage ;  je  ne  sais  plus  quoi, 
I  do  not  know  what  else ;  de 
plus,  besides,  else ;  plus  .  .  . 
plus,  the  more  .  .  .  the  more ; 
plus  de  tarte  a  la  creme,  no 
more  custard  tart ;  ca  ne  va 
done  plus  finir,  will  they  never 
be  done ;  et  je  n'y  pensais 
seulement  plus,  I  had  for- 
gotten all  about  it;  ne  .  .  . 
plus,  no  longer,  not  any 
longer  (this  expression  is  not 
necessarily  always  translated) ; 
de  plus  en  plus,  higher  and 
higher;  je  ne  sais  plus  le 
gout  qu'ont  les  poires,  I 
have  quite  forgotten  the 
taste  of  the  pears;  n'at- 
tendaient  plus  que  les  co- 
cons,  were  now  only  waiting 
for  the  cocoons. 

poche,  /.,  pocket;  violon  de 
poche,  pocket  violin. 

pochette,/.,  little  pocket,  pocket 
violin. 

poignet,  m.j  wrist. 

point,  m.,  point;  a  quel  point 
vous  etes  faible,  how  weak 
you  are ;  cuits  a  point, 
cooked  to  a  turn. 

ooint,  adv.  :  point  r«e  fut  besoin 
de  me  battre,  fhere  was  no 


128 


VOCABULARY 


need  to  beat  me;  ne  lui 
donna  point  de  gages,  did 
not  give  him  any  wages ; 
point  n'est  besoin  que  je  le 
disc,  there  is  no  need  for  me 
to  say  so. 

poire,  /.,  pear. 

poli-e,  polite,  polished,  sleek; 
ses  belles  mains  de  cure 
douces  et  polies  par  les 
benedictions,  his  beautiful 
soft  priest's  hands  made 
sleek  with  blessing. 

poliment,  politely. 

pollen,  m.,  pollen. 

pomme,  /.,  apple. 

populaire,  popular. 

portant-e :  bien  portants,  in 
good  health. 

porte,  /.,  door. 

porter,  (to)  take,  carry,  bear 
(fruit). 

portrait,  m.,  portrait. 

poser,  (to)  place. 

positivement,  positively. 

posseder,  (to)  possess. 

possible,  possible ;  le  plus  pos- 
sible, as  much  as  possible. 

posture,  /.,  position. 

pot,  ra.,  pot. 

potence,  /.,  gallows. 

pouce,  m.,  thumb. 

poule,  /.,  hen. 

pour,  to,  for;  pour  troisieme 
don,  for  his  third  gift ;  pour 
que  (followed  by  subjunctive^ 
in  order  that,  so  that,  for 


.  .  .to;  pour  qu'elle  eut  le 
temps,  for  her  to  have  the 
time. 

pourquoi,  why,  what  for. 

pourrait,  cond.  of  pouvoir;  on 
pourrait  en  tirer  un  bon 
prix,  a  good  price  could  be 
got  for  it. 

pourras,  future  of  pouvoir. 

pourriez,  cond.  of  pouvoir,  might. 

poursuivit,  pret.  of  poursuivre; 
poursuivit  gaiment  son  che- 
min,  he  went  gaily  on  his 
way. 

poursuivre,  (to)  pursue. 

pourtant,  yet,  still,  all  the  same ; 
on  ne  peut  pourtant  pas  avoir, 
you  can't  very  well  have. 

pousser,  (to)  utter,  come  out, 
push. 

poussiere,  /.,  dust. 

poutre,  /.,  beam,  rafter. 

pouvait,  imperfect  of  pouvoir, 
could ;  n'en  pouvait  plus,  was 
quite  exhausted;  ne  le  pou- 
vait pas,  could  not  do  it. 

pouvoir,  (to)  be  able. 

pouvoir,  m.,  power. 

prairie,  /.,  meadow. 

pre,  m.,  field,  meadow. 

precisement,  exactly. 

precipiter,  (to)  fling  down;  se 
precipiter,  (to)  fall  headlong; 
de  se  precipiter,  of  falling 
headlong. 

preferer,  (to)  prefer. 

preluder,    (to)   preclude;    Cou- 


VOCABULARY 


129 


sine  Annette  preludait, 
Cousin  Annette  played  the 
opening  bars. 

premi-er,  -ere,  first. 

prend,  pres.  ind.  of  prendre; 
Teau  prend  le  galop,  the 
water  is  beginning  to  gallop. 

prendre  (a),  (to)  take  (from), 
capture,  get;  prendre  une 
decision,  (to)  make  a  de- 
cision ;  prendre  garde  a,  (to) 
beware  of. 

prends,  pres.  ind.  and  imperative 
of  prendre;  eh  bien,  je  te 
prends  au  mot,  oh  well,  I'll 
take  your  word  for  it. 

preoccupe,  anxious,  worried. 

pres  (de),  near,  nearly. 

presomption,  /.,  presumption. 

presomptueu-x,  -se,  presump- 
tuous. 

presque,  nearly,  almost. 

presser,  (to)  be  urgent ;  presse, 
in  a  hurry ;  1'avare  n'eut  rien 
de  plus  presse  que,  the  miser 
had  nothing  better  to  do  than. 

pret-e,  ready. 

preter,  (to)  lend. 

prier,  (to)  pray  (to). 

priere,  /.,  prayer. 

printemps,  ra.,  spring;  mes 
huit  printemps,  my  eight 
years. 

prirent,  pret.  of  prendre. 

pris,  pret.  of  prendre. 

pris,  p.  p.  of  prendre. 

prise,  /.,  pinch  (of  snuff). 


prison,  /.,  prison. 

prisonnier,  ra.,  prisoner. 

prit,  pret.  of  prendre;  le  loup 
prit  comme  on  dit  ses  jambes 
a  son  cou,  the  wolf  took  to 
his  heels  as  they  say ;  on 
prit  le  sage  parti  de,  we 
wisely  decided  to. 

prix,  ra.,  price. 

procede,  ra.,  proceeding. 

prochain-e,  next. 

profond-e,  profound. 

programme,  ra.,  program,  plan. 

promettait,  imperfect  of  pro- 
mettre. 

promettre,  (to)  promise. 

promis,  p.  p.  of  promettre. 

protestation,  /.,  protest. 

protester,  (to)  protest,  make 
objections. 

prouver,  (to)  prove. 

providentiel-le,  providential. 

province,  /.,  province ;  coin  de 
province,  secluded  country- 
place. 

provision,  /.,  provision,  supply. 

puis,  then. 

puiser,  (to)  draw  up,  take. 

puisque,  since,  as. 

put,  pret.  of  pouvoir,  could. 

qu',  see  que. 

quand,  when ;  quand  meme,  all 

the  same. 

quant  a,  as  for,  as  to. 
quart,      ra.,      quarter;       quart 
*d'heure,  quarter  of  an  hour. 


130 


VOCABULARY 


quatre,  four;  quatre  a  quatre, 
four  steps1  at  a  time. 

que,  conj.,  that  (or  not  always 
necessarily  translated),  than; 
(to  avoid  repetition  of  other 
conjunctions)  because,  as,  etc.; 
ne  .  .  .  que,  only;  il  n'y  a 
qu'a  tirer  la  chevillette,  you 
need  only  pull  the  string; 
meme  il  n'en  fit  qu'une 
bouchee,  he  even  swallowed 
her  at  a  single  mouthful; 
ne  parlerent  que  du  voyage, 
talked  of  nothing  else  but 
the  excursion ;  ce  n'etait  pas 
precisement  chose  commode 
que  d'atteindre,  it  was  not 
exactly  easy  to  reach;  tant 
bien  que  mal,  as  well  as  they 
(we,  etc.)  could. 

que,  rel.  pron.}  that,  whom, 
which. 

que,  int.  or  excl.  adv.  and  pron., 
what;  que  ne  donnerais-je 
pas,  what  would  I  not  give. 

quel-le,  what,  which. 

quelconque,  whatever,  of  some 
kind. 

quelque-s,  some,  a  few. 

quelqu'un,  somebody,  any  one. 

quenouille,  /.,  distaff. 

queue,  /.,  tail. 

qui,  who,  whom,  that,  which; 
un  ecu  a  qui  m'attachera 
solidement,  a  crown  to  any 
one  who  will  tie  me  up 
stoutly;  bon  pour  vous  qui 


vous  en  allez  tranquillement 
sur  votre  ane,  it's  all  very 
well  for  you  going  quietly 
along  on  your  donkey. 

quitter,  (to)  leave,  put  down, 
give  up. 

quoi,  what,  which;  je  ne  sais 
plus  quoi,  I  do  not  know  what 
else ;  eh  quoi  !  what  then  \ 
de  quoi,  something,  where- 
with. 

quoique,  although. 

raidillon,  m.,  up-hill  road,  steep 
hill. 

raison,  /.,  reason;  mettre  a  la 
raison,  (to)  bring  to  his  (her, 
etc.)  senses. 

ralentir,  (to)  slacken;  ralentis- 
sait  par  trop  la  mesure,  was 
playing  rather  too  slowly. 

ramasser,  (to)  pick  up;  allez 
ramasser,  go  and  pick  up. 

ramener,  (to)  bring  back;  me 
ramenait  sur  son  chemin, 
brought  me  back  towards  it. 

rang,  m.,  row. 

ranger,  (to)  put  in  order,  ar- 
range, draw  up;  se  ranger, 
(to)  step  aside. 

rapport,  m.,  connection. 

rassasie,  satisfied,  satiated. 

rayon,  m.,  ray;  miel  en  rayon, 
honey  in  the  comb. 

rayonnement,  m.,  radiation. 

recevez,  pres.  ind.  and  impera- 
tive of  recevoir ;  recevez  mes 


VOCABULARY 


131 


compliments,  I  congratulate 
you. 

recevoir,  (to)  receive,  get. 

recevras,  future  of  recevoir. 

reclamer,  (to)  protest. 

recompenser,  (to)  reward. 

se  recrier,  (to)  cry  out. 

recu,  p.  p.  of  recevoir. 

reculer,  (to)  move  back;  faire 
reculer,  (to)  move  back. 

rectiser,  (to)  challenge ;  se 
recuser,  (to)  decline,  draw  off. 

redescendre,  (to)  come  down 
again,  go  down  again. 

reflet,  ra.,  reflection;  des  re- 
flets, light  and  shade. 

reflexion,  /.,  reflection ;  re- 
flexion faite,  all  things  con- 
sidered. 

refrain,  ra.,  refrain,  chorus. 

refugier,  (to)  take  refuge ;  re- 
fugie,  who  had  taken  refuge. 

refuser,  (to)  refuse. 

regaler,  (to)  treat  (to) ;  se 
regal er  (de),  (to)  feast  (upon). 

regard,  ra.,  look ;  le  regard  au 
ciel,  looking  up  to  the  sky 
(heaven) . 

regarder,  (to)  look  (at) ;  ne  me 
regarde  pas,  is  no  affair  of 
mine. 

regler,  (to)  settle,  dispatch. 

regner,  (to)  reign. 

regret,  m.,  regret. 

relever,  (to)  turn  up;  se  re- 
lever,  (to)  get  up  again,  stand 
up. 


remercier,  (to)  thank. 

remettre,  (to)  hand;  se  re- 
mettre,  (to)  recover;  se 
remettre  en  route,  (to)  go 
on  one's  way. 

remit,  prei.  of  remettre. 

remonter,  (to)  get  up  ... 
again ;  remontant  le  courant 
des  jours  disparus,  going 
back  over  past  times. 

remplir,  (to)  fill;  se  remplir 
(de),  (to)  get  filled  (with). 

remuer,  (to)  move. 

renacler,  (to)  hang  back,  draw 
back;  se  renacler  devant, 
(to)  grumble  at. 

rendre,  (to)  give  back,  return; 
on  rendit  a  Jean,  Jean  was 
given  back;  tu  as  suffisam- 
ment  ecorche  le  pauvre 
monde  que  les  epines  te 
le  rendent,  you  have  fleeced 
the  poor  long  enough,  now 
the  thorns  shall  fleece  you; 
se  fit  rendre  la  sarbacane, 
got  back  the  pea-shooter. 

se  rengorger,  (to)  bridle  up. 

rente,  /.,  revenue ;  de  petites 
rentes,  a  small  income ;  de 
ces  toutes  petites  rentes,  one 
of  those  very  small  in- 
comes. 

rentree,  /.,  reopening;  firent 
leur  rentree  dans,  reentered. 

repandre,  (to)  spread  around. 

reparaitre,  (to)  reappear. 

repas,  ra.,  meal. 


132 


VOCABULARY 


repeter,  (to)  repeat,  say  .  .  . 
again. 

repondre,  (to)  reply. 

repos,  m.,  rest. 

reposer,  (to)  put  down  again; 
se  reposer,  (to)  rest. 

reprendre  (a),  (to)  reply,  re- 
join, go  back  to,  resume, 
take  back  (from) ;  pour  bien 
se  reprendre  a  la  vie,  (to) 
make  another  good  start  in 
life. 

representer,  (to)  represent. 

reprit,  pret.  of  reprendre. 

reseau,  m.,  net,  network,  wire- 
work. 

resigner,  (to)  resign. 

resolut,  pret.  of  resoudre. 

resolution,  /.,  resolution. 

resoudre,  (to)  resolve. 

respect,  m.,  respect. 

respectueu-x,  -se,  respectful. 

ressembler  (a),  (to)  look  like, 
resemble. 

restant,  m.,  remains,  remainder. 

reste,  m.,  remainder,  rest ;  du 
reste,  but  however,  never- 
theless. 

tester,  (to)  stay,  remain ;  son 
corsage  restait  souple  et 
mince,  her  bodice  was  still 
soft  and  slim. 

resultat,  m.,  result. 

retenait,  imperfect  of  retenir. 

retenir,  (to)  keep. 

retirer,  (to)  take  off,  remove. 

retour,  m.,  return;    a  chaque 


retour  d'avril,  every  time 
April  came  round. 

retourner,  (to)  go  back ;  se 
retourner,  (to)  turn  (round) ; 
pour  que  je  ni'en  retourne 
vers  Azay,  for  me  to  go  back 
to  Azay. 

retrousser,  (to)  turn  up,  tuck 
up. 

reussir,  (to)  succeed,  be  a  suc- 
cess ;  je  garantis  de  les 
reussrr,  I  warrant  I'll  do 
them  well. 

reussite,  /.,  success ;  la  reussite 
etait  bonne,  they  were  a  great 
success. 

revanche,  /.,  revenge. 

reve,  m.,  dream. 

revenir,  (to)  come  back,  accrue, 
be  due,  return. 

revenu,  m.,  income. 

rever,  (to)  dream  (of). 

reviennent,  pres.  ind.  of  re- 
venir; qui  s'en  reviennent 
en  voiture,  driving  back. 

revient,  pres.  ind.  of  revenir. 

ricaner,  (to)  grin,  sneer. 

rideau,  m.,  curtain. 

rien,  anything,  nothing;  pour 
rien  au  monde,  not  for  any- 
thing in  the  world ;  je  n'y 
comprends  rien,  I  don't 
understand  it. 

rillettes,  /.  pi.,  a  particular 
preparation  of  minced  pork 
made  in  Touraine. 

rire,  (to)  laugh,  chuckle. 


VOCABULARY 


133 


risque,  m.,  risk. 

riviere,  /.,  river. 

roche,  /.,  rock. 

rocher,  m.,  rock. 

rogner,  (to)  pare,  cut,  chip. 

role,  m.,  part. 

romance,  /.,  ballad,  song. 

ronce,  /.,  bramble,  briar. 

rose,  /.,  rose;    rose  tremiere, 

hollyhock. 

rossignol,  m.,  nightingale, 
roue,  /.,  wheel, 
rouge,  red. 
rougeatre,  reddish, 
rouler,  (to)  rumble  along,  roll; 

cailloux    roules,    shingle    of 

round  stones, 
route,  /.,  way,  road ;   se  mettre 

en  route,  (to)  start. 
roux,  rousse,  red,  ruddy, 
ruisseau,  m.,  stream. 
rustre,  m.,  boor. 

s',  see  se  and  si. 

sa,  his,  her,  its. 

sable,  m.,  sand; 

sablier,  m.,  sand-glass,  hour- 
glass. 

sachant,  pres.  part,  of  savoir. 

sage,  good. 

saint-e,  holy. 

sais,  pres.  ind.  of  savoir ;  je  ne 
sais  plus  le  gout  qu'ont  les 
poires,  I  have  quite  forgotten 
the  taste  of  the  pears. 

saisir,  (to)  seize. 

saisissant,  pres.  part,  of  saisir. 


sait,  pres.  ind.  of  savoir. 

salon,  m.,  drawing-room. 

salut,  m.,  bow,  salvation. 

sanguinaire,  bloodthirsty. 

sans,  without;  sans  doute', 
doubtless,  probably ;  sans 
cela,  otherwise,  but  for  that. 

sarbacane,  /.,  pea-shooter. 

satisfaire,  (to)  satisfy. 

saurai,  future  of  savoir,  can. 

saurez,  future  of  savoir. 

sauter,  (to)  jump. 

savais,  imperfect  of  savoir;  je 
ne  vous  savais  pas  musicien, 
I  did  not  know  you  were  a 
musician. 

savait,  imperfect  of  savoir. 

savant,  m.,  scientist. 

savant-e,  adj.,  learned,  well- 
informed,  clever. 

savoir,  (to)  know  (how  to), 
know  ...  (to  be) ;  sans  le 
savoir,  without  knowing  it. 

scelerat,  m.,  wretch,  villain, 
scoundrel. 

se  (often  not  to  be  translated), 
himself,  herself,  itself,  them- 
selves. 

sec,  sharp,  gaunt,  dry. 

secateur,  m.,  pruning  scissors. 

second-e,  adj.,  second. 

seconde,  /.,  second. 

s' eerier,  see  eerier. 

seigneur,  m.,  lord,  Lord. 

sel,  m.,  salt. 

selon,  according  to. 

semaine,  /.,  week. 


134 


VOCABULARY 


sembler,  (to)  seem, 
s'en  aller,  see  aller. 
s'en  venait,  see  venait. 
sentier,  m.,  path,  track. 
sentiment,  m.,  sentiment, '  feel- 
ing, 
sentir,  (to)  feel;  se  sentir,  (to) 

feel. 

sera,  future  of  etre. 
serais,  conditional  of  etre. 
serait,  conditional  of  etre. 
seront,  future  of  etre. 
serpolet,  m.,  wild  thyme, 
serrer,    (to)   hug,   squeeze ;    se 

serrer,  (to)  squeeze, 
service,  m.,  service, 
servir,    (to)   serve;    dont  il  se 

servit  encore,  which  he  used 

again. 

ses,  his,  her,  its. 
seul-e,  alone, 
seulement,  only,  even;    je  n'y 

pensais    seulement    plus,    I 

had  forgotten  all  about  it. 
si,  adv.,  so,  such;    si  bien  que, 

so  that. 
si,  conj.,  if. 
sien-ne  (le,  la),  his  (own),  her 

(own) . 
sieste,  /.,  siesta ;   faire  un  bout 

de  sieste,  (to)  take  a  little  nap. 
siffler,  (to)  whistle, 
silencieusement,     silently,     in 

silence, 
simple,    simple,    easy;     simple 

d' esprit,  simple-minded, 
simplement,  simply,  merely. 


singuli-er,  -ere,    singular,    ex- 
traordinary, 
sinistre,     sinister,     forbidding, 

ominous, 
sinon,  if  not. 
societe,  /.,  society ;   le  salut  de 

la  societe,  social  salvation, 
soeur,  /.,  sister;   sceur  touriere, 

lay-sister. 

soi,  him,  oneself,  himself, 
soie,  f.i  silk;    vers  a  soie,  silk 

worms. 

soigneusement,  carefully, 
soin,  m.,  care,  task, 
soir,  m.,  evening, 
sois,  imperative  and  subjunctive 

of  etre,  be. 
soleil,  m.,  sun. 
solide,     strong,     firm,     stout; 

solides  comme,  as  firm  as. 
solidement,  firmly,  stoutly. 
somme,  /.,  sum ;    cela  fait  une 

somme,  that  makes  a  good 

round  sum;    mais  c'est  une 

somme,    it's   a   big   sum    of 

money, 
sommeil,  m.,  sleep, 
sommes,    pres.    ind.    of    etre ; 

sommes-nous  betes,  how  silly 

we  are. 
son,    his,    her,    its    (sometimes 

translated  the). 
songer  (a),  (to)  think  (of). 
sonner,  (to)  ring,  jingle, 
sonore,  echoing,  ringing, 
sont,  pres.  ind.  of  etre. 
sorte,  /.,  sort,  kind. 


VOCABULARY 


135 


sortir,  (to)  go  out,  come  out, 
get  out ;  tu  sortiras,  you  shall 
come  out;  ce  n'est  pas  Bi- 
quette  qui  est  sortie  du  chou, 
it  was  not  Biquette  who  came 
out  of  the  cabbage ;  (Toft 
sortait  un  peu  de  fumee,  out 
of  which  there  came  (issued) 
a  little  smoke ;  en  sortant  de 
table,  on  leaving  the  dinner 
table,  after  dinner. 

sou,  m.,  cent. 

souci,  m.,  care;  il  parait  que 
les  soucis  ne  te  genent  pas, 
toi,  you  don't  seem  to  be 
troubled  with  cares. 

se  soucier  de,  (to)  care  about. 

soudain,  suddenly. 

souhait,  m.,  wish. 

soulager,  (to)  relieve. 

soulever,  (to)  hold  up,  bear  up, 
raise. 

souper,  (to)  have  supper,  sup. 

soupirer,  (to)  sigh. 

souple,  soft. 

source,  /.,  spring. 

sourire,  (to)  smile. 

sous,  under,  beneath. 

souvenir,  m.,  memory,  remem- 
brance, keepsake,  souvenir. 

souvent,  often. 

sphinx,  m.,  sphinx. 

stratageme,  m.,  stratagem. 

stupeur,  /.,  stupor ;  Stupeur  ! 
Great  heavens ! 

suer,  (to)  perspire. 

suffire,  (to)  be  enough. 


suffisaient,  imperfect  of  suffire. 
suffisamment,  enough, 
suis,  pres.  ind.  of  etre. 
suite,    /.,     continuation ;      par 

suite  de,  owing  to;    tout  de 

suite,  immediately, 
suivant,  according  to;    suivant 

son  cceur,  after  his  own  heart, 
suivre,  (to)  follow, 
sujet,  m.,  subject ;  au  sujet  de, 

about. 

superbe,  superb,  full  of  pride, 
supplement,    m.,    supplement ; 

un  supplement  de  revenu,  an 

addition  to  their  income, 
supreme,  supreme,  crowning, 
sur,  to,  onto,  on,  at,  upon,  up ; 

sur  pied,   on  our   (my,   etc.) 

feet. 
sur-e,  sure;    a  coup  sur,  to  a 

certainty,  certainly, 
surcroit,  m.,  increase, 
surtout,  especially, 
surveiller,  (to)  keep  an  eye  on. 
survenir,    (to)   come  on,   arise, 

occur, 
survenu,  past  part,  of  survenir ; 

est  survenu,  occurred, 
suspendre,  (to)  hang  up ;  on  le 

suspendit,  he  was  hung  up. 
sut,  pret.  of  savoir. 

t',  see  te. 
ta,  thy,  your, 
tabatiere,  /.,  snuff-box. 
table,  /.,  table ;  table  a  ouvrage, 
work-table. 


136 


VOCABULARY 


tabouret,  ra.,  stool. 

taille,  /.,  figure,  shape,  size. 

tailler,  (to)  cut,  shape,  prune. 

take,  not  to  say,  say  nothing  of ; 
fais  taire  cette  musique  du 
diable,  make  that  devil's  music 
stop,  stop  that  devil's  music. 

talus,  ra.,  bank,  slope. 

tambourin,  ra.,  tambourine. 

tandis  que,  while,  whilst. 

tant,  so  much,  so  many ;  tant 
bien  que  mal,  as  well  as 
they  could;  tant  pis,  so 
much  the  worse  (for  us),  it 
couldn't  be  helped ;  tant  que, 
as  long  as,  so  long  as. 

tantot,  by  and  by;  tant6t  .  .  . 
tantot,  now  .  .  .  now,  some- 
times .  .  .  sometimes. 

tantot,  ra.,  afternoon. 

tard,  late;  tot  ou  tard,  sooner 
or  later. 

tarte,  /.,  tart ;  tarte  a  la  creme, 
custard  tart. 

tas,  ra.,  heap. 

te,  thee,  you,  to  you  (sometimes 
not  translated),  for  you,  your- 
self. 

tel-le,  adj.,  such;  avait  un  tel 
air  de  misere,  looked  so 
miserable. 

temple,  ra.,  temple. 

temps,  ra.,  time,  weather;  des 
personnes  de  1'ancien  temps, 
old-fashioned  people ;  de 
temps  en  temps,  from  time 
to  time. 


tendre,  (to)  pass,  hand,  hold 
out,  hang. 

tenir,  (to)  hold,  keep  (on). 

terme,  ra.,  term ;  dans  toute  la 
force  du  terme  des  personnes 
de  1'ancien  temps,  thoroughly 
old-fashioned  people. 

ternir,  (to)  tarnish,  dull,  dim; 
les  glaces  lentement  ternies, 
the  mirrors  which  had  slowly 
been  tarnished. 

terre,  /.,  earth,  land ;  mit  pied 
£  terre,  alighted. 

tes,  adj.  pi,  thy,  your. 

tete,  /.,  head;  le  juge  et  le 
fermier  en  tete,  headed  by 
the  judge  and  the  farmer; 
en  tete  a  tete,  all  alone. 

tiens,  pres.  ind.  and  imperative 
of  tenir. 

tiens  !  interjection,  here ! 

timide,  shy. 

tiroir,  ra.,  drawer. 

tirer,  (to)  draw,  pull  (out) ;  on 
pourrait  en  tirer  un  bon  prix, 
a  good  price  could  be  got  for  it. 

toi,  thee,  you  (often  added  for 
emphasis,  not  necessarily  trans- 
lated). 

toit,  ra.,  roof. 

tomber,  (to)  fall. 

tonnelle,  /.,  arbor. 

tonner,  (to)  thunder ;  qui  tonne, 
thundering. 

tonnerre,  ra.,  thunder. 

tort,  ra.,  wrong;  avoir  tort, 
(to)  be  wrong. 


VOCABULARY 


137 


tot,  soon,  early ;  tot  ou  tard, 
sooner  or  later. 

total,  m.,  total,  whole. 

toucher,  (to)  touch,  receive. 

touffe,  /.,  tuft,  clump. 

toujours,  always,  still. 

tour,  m.,  turn,  trick. 

Touraine,  /.,  old  name  of  one  of 
the  central  provinces  of  France, 
now  formed  into  the  depart- 
ment of  Indre-et-Loir. 

touriere,  adj.  :  sreur  touriere, 
lay-sister. 

tourm enter,  (to)  torment. 

Tours,  old  capital  of  Touraine, 
on  the  Loire. 

tous,  adj.  and  pron.,  m.  sing.. 
all,  everything;  tous  les 
deux,  both ;  tous  les,  every. 

tout,  adj.  and  pron.,  m.  sing., 
all,  everything;  tout  le 
monde,  everybody ;  une  ab- 
sence de  tout  un  jour,  a 
whole  day's  absence. 

tout,  adv.,  all,  quite,  very,  right ; 
tout  a  coup,  all  of  a  sudden, 
suddenly ;  tout  d'abord,  first, 
foremost ;  tout  au  contraif e, 
on  the  contrary;  tout  de 
suite,  immediately ;  tout  de 
meme,  all  the  same. 

toute(s),  pron.  and  adj.,  /.,  all; 
toutes  deux,  both ;  de  ces 
toutes  petites  rentes,  one  of 
those  very  small  incomes ; 
toute  la  vie,  all  life  long;  a 
toute  extremite,  dying. 


tracas,  m.,  worry. 

tracasser,  (to)  worry. 

train,   m.,   train ;    en  train   de 

filer,  who  was  spinning;    en 

train  de,  in  the  act  of. 
tranquille,    quiet;    laisse   done 

les    arbres    tranquilles,     do 

leave  the  trees  alone, 
tranquillement,  quietly, 
transformer,  (to)  transform, 
transparent-e,  transparent, 
travail,  m.,  work, 
travailler,  (to)  work, 
travers,  m.  :    a  travers,  across, 

through;      en     travers     du, 

crosswise  (on),  across, 
traverser,  (to)  cross,  traverse, 
treillage,     m.,     trellis,      trellis 

work. 

tremblant-e,  trembling, 
tremiere,  adj.  :    rose  tremiere, 

hollyhock, 
tres,  very, 
tresor,  m.,  treasure, 
triomphalement,  triumphantly, 
triompher,  (to)  triumph, 
triste,  sad. 
trompette,   /.,    trumpet;     avec 

un    bruit    de    trompette,    as 

loud  as  a  trumpet, 
tronc,  m.,  trunk. 
trop   (de),  too,  too  much,  too 

many,  much. 
trot,  m.,  trot ;   au  petit  trot,  at 

a  jog  trot, 
trotter,    (to)    trot;    voila   done 

notre   petite  fille  qui  trotte, 


138 


VOCABULARY 


qui  trotte,  and  so  the  little 
girl  trotted  off. 

trotteu-r,  -se:  aiguille  trot- 
teuse,  second-hand  (of  a 
watch) . 

trouver,  (to)  find;  se  trouver, 
(to)  find  oneself,  be,  happen 
to  be;  ils  se  trouverent, 
they  were,  as  it  happened. 

tu,  past  part,  of  taire ;  et  Ma- 
dame Peyrolles  s'etant  tue, 
and  as  Madame  Peyrolles 
stopped  talking. 

tu,  thou,  you. 

tuer,  (to)  kill. 

tyran,  m.,  tyrant. 

un,  une,  a,  an,  one;    une  fois, 

once. 

unir,  (to)  link, 
utile,  useful. 

va,  pres.  ind.  and  imperative  of 

aller,     is     going     to,     will ; 

va-t-en,  be  off. 
vais,  pres.  ind.  of  aller,  will, 
valet,    m.,    servant,     (serving) 

man. 

valeur,  /.,  value, 
valoir,  (to)  be  worth, 
vanter,  (to)  praise, 
vas,    pres.   ind.   of  aller,   will; 

tu  vas  t'en  aller,  you  must 

go   and;    vas-tu?      are  you 

going? 
vaudrait,    cond.    of    valoir;     il 

vaudrait  peut-etre  mieux  que 


ce    rut   toi,    perhaps    it    had 

better  be  you. 
venait,  imperfect  of  venir;    qui 

s'en  venait  en  face  de  lui, 

who    was      coming    towards 

him. 
venir,    (to)    come    (and) ;    que 

vois-je  venir,  what  do  I  see 

coming, 
vent,  m.,  wind, 
ver,   m.,   worm;    vers  a  soie, 

silk- worms. 
ver,  m.,  verse, 
vers,  to,  towards, 
vert,  green. 

vetements,  m.  pi.,  clothes, 
veux,  p:es.  ind.  of  vouloir,  will, 

want;    que  veux-tu?     what 

would  you  have?    ce  que  je 

veux  dire,  what  I  mean, 
veut,  pres.  ind.  of  vouloir,  will 

(sometimes   translated   by   the 

past,  would), 
vibrer,  (to)  vibrate, 
vide,  empty. 
vie,  /.,  life, 
vieille,  /.,  old. 
vieillir,    (to)    grow   old,    make 

older. 

vieux,  adj.,  m.,  old. 
vieux,  m.,  old  man ;    les  deux 

vieux,  the  two  old  people, 
vigne,  /.,  vine, 
village,  m.,  village, 
ville,  /.,  city,  town, 
vimes,  pret.  of  voir. 
vin,  m.,  wine. 


VOCABULARY 


139 


violon,  m.j  violin. 

visage,  m.,  face. 

viser,  (to)  take  aim  at. 

visiter,  (to)  visit. 

visiteur,  m.,  visitor. 

vit,  pret.  of  voir. 

vite,  quickly. 

vitre,  /.,  pane  of  glass ;  la  glace 
feuilletee  en  vitres,  the  thin 
layers  of  ice. 

vivant,  lively. 

vivant,  ra.,  living  creature. 

vivement,  briskly,  vigorously, 
sharply. 

vivre  (de),  (to)  live  (on). 

vli  !    vlan  !    slap  !    bang ! 

voeu,  m.,  wish. 

voici,  here  is,  here  are. 

voila,  there  are,  there  is,  it  is 
(sometimes  not  to  be  trans- 
lated) ;  mais  voila  que  le 
chien  ne  veut  pas  mordre 
Biquette,  but  lo  and  behold ! 
the  dog  would  not  bite  Bi- 
quette; voila  pourtant  deux 
mois  que  nous  nous  exter- 
minions,  vet  we  had  been 
wearing  ourselves  out  for 
two  months;  voila  que,  and 
then ;  voila  deux  annees  de 
cela,  that  is  two  years  ago. 

voir,  (to)  see;  se  voir,  (to)  be 
seen ;  fit  voir,  showed. 

vois,  pres.  ind.  of  voir. 

voisin-e,  m.  and  /.,  neighbor; 
plus  voisin  de,  nearer  to. 

voiture,  /.,   carriage,    cart,   ve- 


hicle ;  qui  s'en  reviennent  en 
voiture,  driving  back. 

voix,  /.,  voice. 

voler,  (to)  steal  (something), 
rob  (some  one). 

voliere,  /.,  aviary,  bird-cage. 

volontiers,  willingly,  gladly ; 
que  volontiers  elle  montrait, 
which  she  liked  to  show. 

vomir,  (to)  pour  forth. 

vont,  pres.  ind.  of  aller. 

votre,  your. 

voudrais,  cond.  of  vouloir. 

voudras,  future  of  vouloir ;  tout 
ce  que  tu  voudras,  all  you 
want,  (I  will  accept)  any- 
thing you  like. 

voudriez,  cond.  of  vouloir. 

voulait,  imperfect  of  vouloir, 
would,  wanted. 

vouloir,  (to)  want,  like,  be 
willing. 

voulu,  past  part,  of  vouloir. 

vous,  you. 

Vouvray,  small  city  in  Touraine, 
known  for  its  sparkling  wine. 

voyage,  m.,  journey,  trip,  ex- 
cursion. 

voyageur,  m.,  traveler,  way- 
farer. 

voyaient,  imperfect  of  voir ;  se 
voyaient,  were  seen,  you  could 
see. 

voyais,  imperfect  of  voir. 

voyez,  pres.  ind.  of  voir ;  non, 
mais  vous  voyez  ca  d'ici, 
just  fancy  what  it  was  like. 


140 


VOCABULARY 


vrai-e,  real,  true ;  maman  disait 
vrai,  mamma  told  the  truth. 

vraiment,  really. 

vu,  past  part,  of  voir;  j'ai  vu, 
I  saw. 

vue,  /.,  view. 


y,  adv.  and  pron.,  there,  about 
it  (often  not  to  be  translated] ; 
il  y  avait,  there  was ;  il  y 
a  cinquante  ans,  fifty  years 
ago. 

yeux,  m.  pi.,  eyes. 


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